Intertwine
by valkyrievamp289
Summary: ByakuyaXHisanaOCXIchigo: If the past intertwines with the present, how can the future go on? What would happen if a heart falls in love with the present, but still could not let go of the past? Will the future be as promising as before?
1. First Omen

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. None of the characters are mine except Haruma Kikyo, Haruma Minami and their family.

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Title: Intertwined

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Chapter One: First Omen

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The sky was menacing and an overcast of dark gray and purple layers of thick clouds rolled around the sky, showing no sign of departing. A torrential blanket of rain and mist enclosed over the majestic buildings of Seireitei, creating a vast natural depression within its inhabitants. Every other color seemed to retreat under the fierce glare of the heavenly gray vapor, and now the whole place was filled with a monotone of white, black and gray. An aura of unease ran through every shinigami, as their worried eyes looked up uncertainly at the unpromising weather.

There had never been a storm as big as this one before. Seldom typhoons came by Seireitei, and most lingered only in the outskirts of Rukongai. Not one storm had developed to become this big, for Soul Society's spiritual energy usually kept the weather at bay.

But now everyone looked up the sky with worried eyes. Not all were superstitious, but the sudden change in weather was enough to be called a bad omen.

Something was going to happen. The mourning sound of rain beating against the hard asphalt and marble roads echoed relentlessly all throughout Seireitei. The same message was heard.

A tall man looked out from the window of his massive manor, and stared at the sky with the same impassive expression he wore for the last fifty years. His long, elegant, ebony locks hung delicately on his shoulders, as his dark gray eyes reflected the unpredictability of the storm. His mint green scarf, a scarf made from silk more expensive than a person's life, hung limply over his white captain's haori, due to all the moisture it had accumulated from the heavy mist.

Kuchiki Byakuya stared impassively at the dark sky, although if one could have been given the chance to stand beside him, one would see the hint of anxiety and unease in his steel gray orbs.

He had sensed it too.

Something was about to happen.

Soon.

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Bright, golden rays peeked through the lavender cotton curtains that hung delicately on dark brown mahogany wood. The light from the early morning sun shone against the intricate embroidery of jasmines and kikyos (Chinese bellflowers), as the mint green stems and leaves crawled around in elegant curves and patterns.

A bird perched momentarily on the windowsill, peeking through the curtains to gaze upon a sleeping figure on a sky blue bed, covered by a purple blanket that was embroidered with bright yellow sunflowers. Long, silky black locks scattered around the pillow, forming an ebony nest, and long, slender fingers gently gripped the hem of the embroidered blanket.

The figure shifted and the bird flew away in surprise. A pair of drowsy eyes reluctantly opened, her pure violet pupils gazing dreamily at the empty ceiling for a moment, before finally snapping out of her reverie. A loud yawn escaped her lips, and as she sat up to stretch her stiff arms, her gaze fell upon her bright yellow alarm clock, that was ticking silently on the top of her wooden night table.

As soon as she saw the numbers corresponding to exactly what time it was, her slightly dazed purple eyes widened in pure alarm.

"I'm late!" she shrieked wildly, roughly throwing aside her blanket and jumped out of the bed in haste. She scampered towards the bathroom, quickly removing her clothes and taking a ten-minute shower. As soon as she had brushed her teeth, she ran back to her room and dug out her crumpled new school uniform that was buried under the chaotic state of her closet.

She rushed to the mirror and grudgingly combed through the stubborn knots on her long, raven colored hair. As soon as she was satisfied, she carefully tied a thick violet silk ribbon around her head, making it act like a headband. She checked her reflection once again, and a pleased grin appeared on her slightly pale, pink lips.

"All right!" she cheered out loud. "Today is going to be a great day!"

A knock interrupted her self-comforting monologue. "Kikyo? Hurry up and eat breakfast! You'll be late on your first day of school!"

Kikyo almost dropped the brush she was holding, and she immediately took the school bag she had vigilantly prepared the night before. She opened the door and met the annoyed frown of her elder sister.

"Good morning Minami onee-chan!" Kikyo chirped livelily. Minami continued to look at her with an annoyed stare. " Hurry up and eat," she ordered. "Your school starts in fifteen minutes. My god, you never change Kikyo."

"I would make it," Kikyo replied, determination flowing out of her voice. "I'd even be there, five minutes earlier."

Minami rolled her eyes. "Well then, instead of creating impossible goals, why don't you get going? You're wasting your time."

Kikyo stuck out her tongue to her sister and grinned as another scowl appeared on her pale face. Kikyo had always thought it was strange why she and her sister didn't look alike. Minami had short, shaggy tangerine hair, and bright emerald eyes that always seemed to darken eerily whenever she was angry. Her skin was slightly more tanned than hers but still pale.

Kikyo ran down the stairs and almost stumbled upon her mother.

"Kikyo, don't run down the stairs, you might fall," her mother scolded. "Here, I already packed your obentou. Hurry up and eat your breakfast."

Kikyo grabbed two pieces of toast and kissed her mother goodbye on the cheek. She scampered towards the door and almost tripped on the welcome mat.

"A born klutz as always," she heard her sister comment before the door closed behind her. Kikyo frowned. Even if she hated it whenever Minami teased her, she hated it more whenever she herself knew that her sister was right. She was a klutz. She couldn't play volleyball without endangering both herself and her teammates.

The sun was warm against her skin as she hurried through the streets. She constantly checked the time, her speed growing parallel to her anxiety. She did not want to be late on her first day of school. She had always considered that as an omen, ever since she had been late on her first day during junior high, and the whole year ended up with bad luck. She didn't want the same thing to happen on her freshman year too.

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Kurosaki Ichigo leaned casually against the window ledge, staring at the clear, blue sky with the usual frown on his tanned face. Chocolate brown eyes glared momentarily at a passing cloud, and long, calloused fingers ran through his messy, ginger locks.

He had woken up that morning with a strange feeling of uneasiness. He couldn't understand why he was so restless, why his body was anticipating something to happen. The weather was fair and everyone was acting the way they should be. He could not sense any hollows or arrancar nearby, and there had been no disruptions among the souls he had seen that morning.

_So why am I so restless? _He mentally asked himself.

He would have asked Rukia if Soul Society had detected any imposing threat in the human world, but Rukia was back in Seireitei to report about Karakura town's status and she would not be back in three days.

He checked his watch. There were only five minutes left before classes started.

As he was leaving the window, he spotted a feminine figure running towards the building in desperate haste. Ichigo couldn't see her face but as soon as he set eyes on her figure, a uneasy knot twitched in his stomach. He frowned as he continued staring after the girl until she disappeared into the school building.

_Who was that? _He asked no one.

The bell rung and Ichigo reluctantly returned to his seat, his mind still on the girl he had seen. Ichigo didn't know why but he sensed something special within that girl… and something familiar.

The door opened and the teacher came in.

"Class, we have a new transfer student from Tokyo," the teacher announced. A sudden uproar of whispers and murmurs emerged from the class. Everyone was curious on who the new student was. All except Ichigo. He stared at the teacher with a bored expression, hoping that the introduction wouldn't be to long and they can proceed to the lesson. He wanted the day to end quickly.

"Come in," the teacher called to the other side of the door. Ichigo turned his head and kept his gaze on the window. The memory of the running girl was still disturbing his mind. The door slid open and a significant volume of gasps was enough to catch Ichigo's interest and he turned his head to see the new transfer student himself.

Chocolate pupils constricted as his eyes widened in immeasurable shock.

_W-what on earth–?_

"Good morning, I'm Haruma Kikyo. Nice to meet all of you," Kikyo said as she bowed her head in respectful greeting. She looked around and found everyone looking at her with outmost curiosity and a tinted blush crept up her cheeks. As the teacher wrote her name on the board, the students started muttering and whispering among themselves, keeping their curious and anticipating gaze on her. Kikyo studied their faces and was relieved that none of them looked too mean. She had bad experiences with bullies and it was often her older sister, Minami, who would fight for her. She had tried to learn karate just for self-defense, but after a broken arm, ten injured classmates, and one traumatized partner, she quit.

That was when her eyes fell upon Kurosaki Ichigo.

He was staring at her like the others, but his expression was completely different. He was staring at her with a completely shocked and disbelieving expression as if she was some monster he had never seen before. Kikyo shifted uncomfortably, and looked down on the floor, a furious blush appearing on her face.

_Why did he have to stare at me that way?_

"Haruma-san, kindly take that seat over there," the teacher instructed, pointing at the empty seat beside Ichigo. Kikyo stiffened as she saw the seat, and tried her best to avert her eyes away from the boy who had been staring at her in a strange way. She walked reluctantly towards her desk, almost tripping over someone's eraser on the way, and earning a few giggles and snickers too.

Her face was already as red as a ripe tomato when she reached her seat, and as she stole a curious glance on Ichigo's direction, she found him still staring at her in the same, shocked and disbelieving way.

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing. As soon as Kikyo entered the classroom, his heart dangerously skipped a beat. He couldn't believe it. The hair color, the eye color, the shape of her face, and the shape of her eyes… all of them were exactly similar to Rukia's.

The hair was only longer, the eyebrows a bit thinner and she was slightly taller but all in all Kikyo looked like Rukia's elder twin sister. Ichigo knew that his classmates also noticed, though none of them could point out the devastating similarity between the two.

He knew that Kikyo had noticed him, but he could not bring himself to change the shocked expression on his face. If he hadn't known that Rukia was in Soul Society at that moment, he would have presumed that Kikyo was Rukia and she was only playing a trick on him.

All throughout that class Ichigo continued staring at her, and Kikyo was feeling very annoyed to the point that she was almost on the verge of tears. _Why was he looking at me like that? I didn't do anything to him, and I'm very sure that we hadn't met before. So why? Why was he staring at me as if he was recognizing me from some unpleasant event?_

Kikyo tilted her head away from Ichigo, and used her long hair to create a curtain between her face and Ichigo's. She was feeling very self-conscious at the moment and found it very hard to even breathe. Everyone else had stopped paying attention to her, but the orange-haired boy beside her was still staring at her. Kikyo imagined herself slamming her hand on Ichigo's desk and demanding to know what the hell was his problem. But she knew herself better, and knew that if ever she attempted doing such a thing, she might suddenly burst out crying. It was an irritating feature but it seemed to her that her anger was hardwired to her tear ducts, making her cry as soon as her mind registers that she was angry.

Time crawled by, or it seemed to be, for Kikyo. Maybe it was because the subject was relatively boring or because she was waiting for Ichigo to remove his strange gaze on her. But he never did.

As soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, Kikyo stood up and rushed out of the room, muttering a lame excuse to go to the bathroom.

Kikyo entered the restroom and locked herself in the silent sanctuary of one of the cubicles. She sat on the covered toilet seat, and stared blankly at the white door of the cubicle for a few moments before she started to cry.

The tears flowed freely out of her indigo eyes, and occasional whimpers resounded all throughout the washroom. Kikyo couldn't believe how pathetic she looked, but she just couldn't help herself. It was her first day and the first thing she sees is some guy staring at her as if she was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. Kikyo knew that she wasn't one of those who were extraordinarily pretty but she knew that her beauty was still something acceptable. It wasn't so average but it wasn't special either. She had a clear complexion and a healthy demeanor that was normal for girls her age. She did have somehow small breasts but she didn't look as revolting or shocking as to justify the look the ginger-haired boy gave her.

"Hello?" a voice broke through her thoughts.

Kikyo hastily wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and stopped a few more impending whimpers from escaping her throat.

"Hey, are you okay?" The voice asked again.

"Yes, I'm fine," Kikyo managed to reply, but her voice was hoarse and broken, completely betraying her emotions. She cursed silently to herself.

"No, you're definitely not fine," the voice retorted and loudly banged the door of the cubicle.

"Don't do that Tatsuki-chan, you might frighten her," another softer, gentler voice intervened. "Um, the person in the cubicle, you're Haruma-san, right?"

"Yes," Kikyo muttered in reply. She hesitantly opened the door of her cubicle and peeked out "Um, who are you two?" In front of her were two girls, probably freshmen, looking at her with concerned faces. One girl was slightly shorter than the other, with short-cropped black hair that was pointing at different directions. She was standing in a rather masculine way, and had a bit of a flat chest. The other girl was her complete opposite. She was tall, with long flowing orange hair and cute, crystal-like hairclips on the sides of her head. She had a soft and gentle expression with deep gray eyes. She had quite big breasts that made Kikyo a bit envious.

"I'm Inoue Orihime, nice to meet you. We're in the same class by the way," Inoue said, extending her hand and gently shook Kikyo's hand.

"I'm Tatsuki. I won't bother telling you my last name 'cuz I don't want you to call me by my last name," Tatsuki replied, grinning as she gently patted Kikyo's shoulder.

"Ah…okay….Nice to meet you Tatsuki-san…Orihime-san…" Kikyo managed to stutter in reply. She was still not over her crying dilemma.

"Why were you crying, Kikyo?" Tatsuki suddenly asked, catching Kikyo off-guard. She didn't know how to explain her situation, and she was, further more embarrassed at how shallow the issue seemed at that moment. She fondled with the tails of her purple ribbon that peeked out of the ebony curtains of her rave-colored hair.

"I-I…it's nothing important really…" Kikyo stammered, blushing in embarrassment. "I-I… Maybe it's just because this is my first day in this school and anxiety got the better of me and...y-yeah, I guess that's the reason." Kikyo laughed nervously, her clammy fingers twisting the tails of her ribbon into indefinable knots.

There was a moment of silence in the bathroom and Kikyo avoided eye contact with any of the two girls, keeping her anxious eyes on untangling the knots she had created before. She wasn't comfortable on talking about herself in front of people she barely knew about therefore she presumed it was better to lie.

"Eh…" Tatsuki suddenly mused. "You're really a bad liar, Kikyo."

The fingers playing nervously with the ribbon suddenly froze, petrified by Tatsuki's unexpected assumption. But Kikyo couldn't help but agree. The truth syndrome seemed to be ingrained in her system, and whenever she was forced to lie, she was always caught. Her whole family had always reminded her of that, and so she would only lie, if there were no other way.

"W-what are you saying? I-"

"I don't care for the reason behind your lies, but I assure you that you could trust us. Tell me if there was someone who bullied you and I'd beat the crap out of him!" Tatsuki interrupted, staring at Kikyo with serious, maroon eyes.

Kikyo opened her mouth, and then closed it again, deciding against her decision to lie again. A few tears managed to escape the loosening harbors of her eyes, and her throat tightened as the familiar sensation of crying descended upon her muscles and tissues.

Inoue stepped forward, taking Kikyo into her arms. Kikyo started sobbing as soon as she felt Inoue gently pat her back. "B-Because…he….he…"

"Who's he?" Tatsuki pressed on. Inoue gave her a warning look, telling her not to force Kikyo.

"That guy…sitting beside me in class…he had bright orange hair…" Kikyo continued, sobbing silently on Inoue's blouse.

"What the hell did Ichigo do to you?!" Tatsuki almost screamed.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue hissed, looking warily at Kikyo's sobbing figure. "Don't scare her."

"He…he was staring at me ever since I entered the classroom that morning… he was looking at me with a completely shocked expression as if he was seeing a monster or something…I couldn't understand him but he never took that stare away from me the whole time the class was going on… I thought I was going to cry then and there…" Kikyo choked out the last few words, and diluted her sobs into muffled whimpers. She moved away from Inoue and wiped the moist on her cheeks with a handkerchief.

"Eh, that bastard was looking at you that way huh? I'm going to punch some sense into him later!" Tatsuki growled, massaging her fists threateningly.

"Oh no! Don't! I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me!" Kikyo groaned. "Please!" she pleaded, seeing that Tatsuki wasn't going to listen to her pleas.

"Why do you think Kurosaki-kun was staring at her that way Tatsuki-chan?" Inoue asked, looking perplexed. She knew that Ichigo wasn't the kind of person who would normally do such things.

"Hmm," Tatsuki mused, as she scratched her head and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. Then, her gaze fell upon Kikyo, whose eyes were still a bit red because of all the crying she had done. She stared at her intensely, and leaned towards her face a bit too quickly, making Kikyo stagger back.

"Um…" Kikyo whispered nervously, as she took another step back. "Er…w-what's wrong?"

"I got it!" Tatsuki suddenly exclaimed, surprising Kikyo and making her slide against one of the slippery tiles in the washroom. Good thing Tatsuki caught her on time before she hit the floor. "You look so much like that Kuchiki chick Ichigo's always with, so maybe you just freaked him out a bit when you entered the classroom!"

"Like Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked, and took a closer look at Kikyo. Tatsuki was right, Kikyo did look a lot like Rukia. Only a few differences in the height and hair length, but the face, the eyes, and the nose….almost everything was completely identical. "Haruma-san, are you somehow Kuchiki Rukia's relative?"

"Who is… Kuchiki Rukia?" Kikyo inquired, bewildered at the unknown topic. She had never heard of someone named Kuchiki Rukia before. However… the two separate names seemed both vaguely familiar… something she had heard from some far away place…from some far away memory…

"Haruma-san?"

Kikyo blinked and looked back at Inoue with a confused look. "Er, what did you say?"

"Are you alright? You were suddenly staring at empty space and your eyes seemed a bit daze. Are you feeling dizzy?" Inoue asked, gazing intently at Kikyo with worried, gray orbs.

"I'm feeling well. I just don't know any person with the name Kuchiki Rukia. We have no relatives by that name," Kikyo replied, shaking her head,

"Oh. Well then, it might be just a coincidence that the two of you looked alike. Anyone would have thought you were twins or siblings," Inoue mused. "That must be why Kurosaki-kun reacted that way to you. He's a bit connected to Kuchiki-san, you know. And she's been skipping school often lately, so he's just a bit like missing her. I hope you don't take this against him."

Kikyo managed to smile and shook her head gently. "No, I understand. This is not his fault. It's only that, I'm a bit sensitive on how people look at me and maybe his stare was just a bit too much. It's my own shallowness that is at fault. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Now, now, don't be too formal Kikyo! We're friends now, right?" Tatsuki chirped, placing an arm on Kikyo's shoulder and pulling her into an awkward one-hand hug. "Anyway, I'll have to remind that Ichigo about his manners. Staring at people whether they look like his girlfriend or not is definitely _not _polite!"

"Kuchiki-san is not Kurosaki-kun's girlfriend, Tatsuki-chan! You know how much Kurosaki-kun gets irritated whenever you spread rumors like that!" Inoue scolded. Tatsuki playfully stuck out her tongue. Then she grinned back at Kikyo.

"From now on, you're are friend alright? If someone bothers you, don't hesitate to tell me and I'll teach them all a lesson!"

Kikyo looked at them uncertainly for a moment, before flashing a relieved smile. A load seemed to be lifted from her shoulders as she gazed at the smiling and friendly faces of Tatsuki and Inoue. Now that she was somehow enlightened on the reason behind Kurosaki Ichigo's strange stare, Kikyo started to hope for a more enjoyable year with her newly made friends.

_Everything will work out in the end, _she happily thought.

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"Aizen-sama, for what reason did you summon me in your midst?" Ulquiorra inquired as he stood in the middle of Aizen's courtroom, which was buried deep within the center of Las Noches. Tall, flawless marble pillars stood together in straight columns, holding the almost invisible ceiling that was hidden by the darkness of the shadows accumulating on top. The floor, created from the finest white marble tiles absorbed every sound, disrupted footsteps and avoided noisy echoes.

A platform, about twenty feet from the ground stood in the center of the room, nesting a majestic stone throne where Sosuke Aizen, former fifth squad captain of the Gotei 13, resided.

"I called you for something I would like you to investigate," Aizen replied, staring at Ulquiorra through his dark, sinister eyes. "Something had moved into Karakura town, something with a potent amount of power that I would like to acquire. However, I could not fully observe such power while I remain here in Hueco Mundo, and so I leave you with that task."

"I understand. Whom should I monitor?" Ulquiorra asked. A small but menacing smile appeared on Aizen's pale lips, and he stared at the darkness with an amused expression on his dark eyes. "A girl, sixteen years old, with long, raven-colored hair and deep violet eyes. The name she is using is Haruma Kikyo. Find her and observe. Once she reveals any hint of inhuman power, bring her to me."

"As you wish, Aizen-sama."

As Ulquiorra disappeared from the room, a bigger, more evil smile twisted Aizen's features. He looked longingly at the eternal darkness that was suspended high above him, and a wild flame of excitement and anticipation grew restlessly in his eyes. If his hunch was correct, then there would be no need to use Karakura town to be able to open the dimension in where the King of Soul Society resided.

The key would already be in his clutches. And Soul Society would know nothing of his plans.

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A/N: this is my second fanfic on ByakuyaXHisanaXIchigo Pairing. The first one was Scatter your love and revive me once again.

I hope you like this story and I am looking forward to your reviews. If you spot any grammatical errors you wish to point out, it is all right to write it as a review. I'll hastily correct it as soon as I read your comment.

Read, review and enjoy!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	2. Beautiful Angel

Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH.

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Chapter Two: Beautiful Angel

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"Hey, sorry about my behavior yesterday."

Kikyo looked up and almost dropped the book that she had been reading.

It was an extremely rainy day, and a clean sheet of white and gray overpowered the sky. The streets of Karakura town emptied drastically, due to the moisture and slippery hazard the weather provided. Puddles of water grew rapidly on sidewalks and clogged sewers, while the pieces of exposed earth transformed into sluggish mud. Students grazed in the corridors and classrooms, looking out the glass windows with longing. Soccer games had been cancelled, and now everyone restlessly moved inside the concrete environment of the school building.

"W-What?"

Kikyo stared at Ichigo with wide eyes, her brain unable to register what he had just said. Yesterday, when she had first arrived in Karakura High School, Ichigo had graced her with a horrified stare all throughout their first class together. Fortunately, she had made friends with Tatsuki and Inoue who confronted Ichigo on her behalf and told him to stop staring at her. But ever since then, Ichigo had never attempted to talk to her or apologize for the way he acted.

Until now.

Ichigo looked down at Kikyo with the usual frown on his face, though his warm, chocolate eyes reflected his sincerity. He had no idea that Kikyo would take his stare as offensive, but after Tatsuki and Inoue talked to him about it, he made sure not to look at her that way again. Nevertheless, Ichigo could not find a way to properly apologize to Kikyo. Something about Kikyo made him awkward and at the same time uneasy.

"I'm sorry about the way I stared at you yesterday. I didn't do it on purpose, believe me. You just look so much like someone I know," Ichigo explained, looking away.

"Yes, I've heard. Don't worry, I won't take it against you," Kikyo replied, feeling relieved by the growing civility between both of them. She had feared that she had made an enemy on the first day of school, and was thankful to know that it was otherwise. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink that night, dreaming about being bullied and beaten up by Ichigo.

Ichigo relaxed as Kikyo accepted his apology and casually sat on his seat, and looked out the window in silence. He didn't know why but last night he had dreamed of Kikyo and Rukia together. Something about their similarity was quite eerie but also very intriguing.

Kikyo tried to go back to the book she was reading, but now that Ichigo had openly talked to her, she couldn't concentrate. She liked the way his voice sounded. It was deep and masculine but still with the hint of a boy's puberty. She guessed that he was the type who didn't talk much, and probably didn't smile much either, based on the frown that was constantly on his face.

Kikyo momentarily imagined how Ichigo would look like if he smiled, and a small blush appeared on her pale cheeks. She almost literally slapped herself back to reality, mentally scolding herself for her foolishness. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you daydream at a time like this? You barely know him!_

Despite the mental disputes, Kikyo continued to secretly peek through the corners of her eyes, watching Ichigo with great interest. She took note of that constant frown on his tanned face and wondered what incident in his life would have caused that frown to be almost permanently etched on his skin. _It would be nice to get to know him, _Kikyo thought, looking gently at Ichigo, who was still staring out the window. _Somewhere, deep within him is a part of his soul that could smile. _And again, the imaginary image of a smiling Ichigo manifested in her mind.

"What are you looking at?"

Kikyo blinked, looking dazed for a moment, before she realized that Ichigo was staring at her curiously. She quickly turned her head away, her face turning into a violent shade of red. She could almost feel the steam coming out of her ears.

"Um…sorry…" she muttered, looking down at her desk with a red, embarrassed face. "I just…got fascinated with your hair I suppose…" Kikyo dared to look at him for a moment, expecting to find an annoyed scowl upon Ichigo's face. But to her surprise, Ichigo just sighed and turned to look back at the window.

They shared another moment of awkward silence.

"People always say that," Ichigo suddenly mused, breaking the heavy silence. "They say that my hair was bleached. But this is the natural color of my hair, and I'm not embarrassed about it. My mom had the same hair color."

"Oh," Kikyo managed to reply. _What a nice color, _she thought, glancing disdainfully at her plain, black locks. "I wish I had hair like yours," she muttered as she gazed on the messy nest of bright tangerine on Ichigo's head.

"Having hair like this is troublesome," Ichigo retorted. "I was often teased about it when I was still young, and it was my mom who always came to my rescue. But when I got into junior high, I learned to fight for myself, and so nobody dared to tease me any –" Ichigo abruptly stopped, and his mouth was left open as he realized what he had just been saying. He had never been this open to anyone else, not even to Rukia. So why was he opening up to someone he barely knew?

"Kurosaki-san?" Kikyo asked, curious at his sudden reverie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he casually replied. "Oh, and don't call me 'Kurosaki-san'. It sounds irritating. Just Ichigo would be fine."

Kikyo's blush deepened. Calling a boy by his first name without any concrete relations with him was a very high form of disrespect and informality. Everyone knew that. Calling Ichigo by his first name would only reflect two possible things. One, both of them were hitched, or two, she was a very disrespectful person. She didn't want any of those two things.

"Um…I don't think that's proper…er…Kurosaki-san…" Kikyo stammered, fondling with the tails of her ribbon again, the way she always did whenever she was nervous.

"You're pretty stubborn, aren't you?" Ichigo suddenly snapped slightly annoyed. But the moment he saw Kikyo's bewildered look, he sighed guiltily. "Fine, if that's too informal for you, then just call me Kurosaki-kun for heaven's sake. 'Kurosaki-san' is a title only fitting for my dad. Though he doesn't seem very respectable though," he chuckled slightly, remembering how stupid looking his father was.

Kikyo didn't hear much of what he just said, because the moment Ichigo chuckled, it seemed as if her brain stopped working for a moment. For Kikyo, Ichigo's laugh was a very comforting sound, and even if it was a bit hoarse and deep, it contained the pure essence of amusement. She wanted to hear more of it. And she wanted to see Ichigo's smile along with it. It was crazy, she knew, but she couldn't help but desire for it. Something about Ichigo was attracting her, drawing her towards the mysteries of his secluded personality.

"Oi, why are you staring at me again?" Ichigo stared at Kikyo skeptically, wondering why she was staring at him in such a dreamy way.

Kikyo blushed wildly, but this time, she didn't look away. She gave Ichigo a sheepish smile. "Did you know… how nice it is to hear you laugh?"

An unexpected blush appeared on Ichigo's face, and he hastily looked away from Kikyo as he felt his face warm up. It was something he had not expected to hear from her. Nobody really told him how nice his laugh was. He himself thought it sounded horrible. "What are you saying? Of all the things to notice…"

"It really is a wonderful sound," Kikyo added, her embarrassment fading away. "You should try to smile and laugh more often, Kurosaki-kun."

"That would have been very easy if I had something to smile and laugh about," Ichigo grunted, keeping his gaze away from Kikyo. " Unfortunately, this world is just too damn full of sad stuff, that's why it's hard to even twitch your lips in amusement."

Kikyo heard the bitter note in his voice, and decided to drop the subject. She didn't want to upset Ichigo. If she went too far, the chances of her, ever seeing his smile again would diminish.

"Kurosaki-kun, what do you during your free time?" Kikyo asked, hoping to create a light, and jolly conversation. But to her dismay, Ichigo's reply was the exact opposite of what she hoped for.

"I don't really think it's your business to know," Ichigo snapped, surprising Kikyo. He couldn't possibly tell Kikyo that his hobbies included training for a war against a fugitive ex-captain and finishing off Hollows.

"Oh," Kikyo's face fell, and she awkwardly turned her head away from Ichigo. "I see. Sorry for being a pest." She picked up her book and tried to read again, though the truth was, she wasn't really reading. She was just finding something to do, so as to stop the tears from quickly falling from her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but the way Ichigo had rejected her offer of a conversation hurt her terribly, but she also knew that it was also her fault for being so nosy. Ichigo was right; it was none of her business. But he still could have tried saying it in a nicer way.

Ichigo turned his head to glance at Kikyo and noticed that her fingers were slightly shaking. A lump formed in his throat as he realized that she was stopping herself from crying. Guilt started seeping into him once again, and he sighed in resignation.

"Sorry about that," Ichigo muttered. Kikyo's head snapped towards his direction, shock vividly etched on her indigo orbs. A solitary tear fell out of her right eye, and slowly flowed down Kikyo's pale cheek. Another sigh escaped Ichigo's lips as he dug into his pocket and took out his handkerchief. "Here," he offered, handing Kikyo his handkerchief. "Wipe those tears away."

Kikyo stared at the handkerchief for a moment before reluctantly wiping away the moist from her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered as she handed the hanky back to Ichigo.

"You should really try to control those tears of yours," Ichigo said, turning his head to look out the window once more. "If you cry too easily, people would see you as weak, and then they'll bully you. If you don't want others to take advantage of you, you must learn to fight and stand up for yourself."

Kikyo looked at Ichigo with surprised eyes. She had not expected such words to come out of him.

"I'll remember that. Thank you," Kikyo replied, smiling gently at Ichigo. Ichigo happened to glance back at her, and as soon as he saw that gentle smile on her lips, another blush crept up his cheeks and he hastily looked away. He found the way he reacted to be very pathetic, but he couldn't deny that Kikyo's smile was very beautiful. It was very innocent and sincere, as if she was placing every bit of gentleness in her smile. It was something unexpected and something that made her different from Rukia. Kikyo's smile was a lot frailer and gentler, a bit like Inoue's, but with more elegance and grace in it.

"My older sister always told me that," Kikyo suddenly added, her breezy, soft voice breaking through his thoughts. "She told me that for me to survive in life, I should learn how to stand with my own strength and my own pride. To be able to live through the day all by yourself is what living really is about."

"She had a point," Ichigo replied.

"But," Kikyo continued. She turned to look at Ichigo with strong, firm eyes. "I believe something else. To live is to survive in this world. That theory is correct. But for me, the real essence of a meaningful life is to live and survive for someone else. By using your own strength and your own pride to protect the people you love the most, only then will your life truly have any meaning."

Ichigo stared at Kikyo's determined purple eyes, and found it hard to believe that tears escaped such eyes so easily. She seemed a bit different than before, looking at lot stronger with that firm look on her eyes.

A small, appreciative smile tugged on the corners of his lips. "You sure believe in what you are saying."

A grin appeared on Kikyo's face, unexpectedly creating another blush to appear on Ichigo's face. It seemed very childish to him, to blush so easily after seeing someone he barely knew smile. But still he can't deny how her smiles were affecting him.

"Of course," she replied. "This is what I believe in and will continue to believe in. I know I'm not that strong, I don't have any experience in karate or martial arts and I suck at sports. But I know that I am capable of something, even though I haven't found out about that yet. And I would use my talents to protect my family and all those I hold dear. I will never give up, even if saving those people would require me to sacrifice my life."

"Strong words," Ichigo mused, looking at Kikyo with great interest. Her words had touched him and he knew that she would really do what she said. Kikyo was really an intriguing girl for him, and he was attracted to the complexity of her persona. The sudden change in her mood from depressed, to happy, to determined, was highly amusing. To see a smile right after her tears was something completely interesting too. "I believe you."

Kikyo blushed at the unexpected compliment and gave Ichigo a sheepish smile. "Thanks."

--

_A meadow._

_Kikyo was standing in the middle of a meadow, surrounded by tall oak trees and a few hills. Bright emerald grass carpeted the soft soil, while wild flowers of different kinds and colors grew and bloomed on every available patch of ground. The meadow was shaped into a perfect circle, as if masterfully crafted and molded into a wonderful place. There was a nearby waterfall hidden amidst the beautiful trees that surrounded the meadow like a natural fence. A huge, solitary oak grew on the center of the meadow, while it's vast branches and broad leaves provided a cool shade against the hot glare of the afternoon sun. Rabbits scurried around while birds perched on the sturdy branches of the trees, escaping the dreary heat of the sun. _

_Kikyo walked around the place, surprised by how familiar it seemed to her. She knew she had never been to a place like that before, but she was shocked at how every detail registered into her mind, like bits of a memory that was slowly being reminisced. The sun shone upon her, providing a burning bit of warmth on her skin. She slowly walked towards the big, oak tree in the middle, longing for the coolness of its shade._

_And then suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere._

_He stood under the shade of the oak tree, standing in a relaxed but regal manner. His long black hair that was as dark as the pure night sky danced elegantly with the passing breeze, a few strands straining on his handsome, pale face. Molten dark gray eyes gazed at her, irises holding the color of a passionate tempest that holds a swirl of countless feelings of love and joy. _

_Kikyo stared at the beautiful man in complete shock and awe, wondering what god he was, for his beauty was best befitting the gods themselves. _

_A soft, warm smile appeared on his pale lips as he stretched out his hand and beckoned Kikyo to come towards him. Without any hesitation, Kikyo stretched out her hand too, reaching for the blissful sanctuary of the beautiful man's embrace. _

_She ran towards the tree, and the man smiled wider, as he noticed the anticipation in her eyes. He took a step forward, welcoming her into his arms._

_But before they could even touch each other, the whole scenario shattered into infinite pieces, like a fragile piece of glass. Darkness swirled around Kikyo and enveloped her in a tight, suffocating embrace, she could hardly breathe. She wanted to cry out for help but the darkness was choking her, stopping her from releasing a single word. _

_Kikyo was bewildered. She wanted to escape that despicable hell. She wanted to go back to that heavenly meadow, where that mesmerizing angel was waiting for her._

_She wanted to escape. _

_She needed to escape._

_She had to escape._

Kikyo opened her eyes, and found herself still in the school library. Dark vermillion rays peeked through the windows, indicating how late it already was. Books scattered all around her, creating a messy pile on the table. Kikyo stretched her stiff arms and started to return the books to their proper places.

The dream she had replayed itself constantly in her head, keeping her mind very distracted.

She felt very confused about her dream, and continuously wondered who the handsome young man was. She had a feeling that there was more to her dream than she thought, but at that moment, her mind was still too confused to be able to think properly.

There was also something else about that dream. How shockingly vivid and detailed it was, as if it wasn't at all a dream, but a long forgotten memory.

As soon as she finished returning the last book, she started organizing the chaotic bundle of notes that were carelessly scattered around the table. _Minami onee-chan is going to scold me again, _Kikyo thought wearily as she picked up the pieces of paper. _She'll lecture me about organization and all those boring stuff once I get –_

A bone-chilling roar broke through Kikyo's thoughts. The pieces of paper fell from her hands.

"W-What?"

Another roar broke through the silence, and Kikyo's hands instinctively covered her ears, as she tried to muffle the horrible noise. "W-what the heck was that?" she asked no one.

Every fiber in Kikyo's body told her that there was danger coming her way. She shoved her notes into her bag and stumbled out of the door in haste. The empty corridors that were getting darker and darker, and she ran with outstanding desperation, the adrenaline in her body providing her with enough strength to move. She was desperate to get out of the building and get back home.

Another roar broke through the night and this time it was loud enough to break a couple of windows. Kikyo screamed as she ducked for cover, evading the sharp pieces of broken glass that flew around.

"What on earth is happening? _Help!_" she shrieked, as another roar emerged from an unknown source. She continued to run along the corridors, using her bag as a shield against the sharp pieces of glass that flew around whenever windows broke due to the intensity of the roar.

"_Where are you? There's no use running, we'll still get you!" _An eerie snake-like voice resounded all throughout the building. Kikyo stopped running, paralyzed by the scary voice. _Was it after me?_ She thought, panicking. _Why? _

She felt a movement by the window, but before she could even turn to look at it, a huge amount of force pushed her against the wall, breaking the window glass. Kikyo gasped in pain as a sharp piece stabbed her thigh and she desperately tried to crawl out of the way of the falling bits of glass. Her thigh was bleeding severely and she could not bring herself to stand up properly. Her shoulders ached due to the violent impact against the wall, and she presumed that she had a few ribs broken. Her head was hurting like hell and as she touched it with her hand, a red stain appeared on her palm. _Oh, great, _she sarcastically thought. _I'm bleeding there too._

A movement in the shadows caught her attention.

She looked around, and as she did, her eyes widened in devastating fear.

"W-What…are you?"

Around her stood a numerous number of monsters, creatures that she had never seen before. They were of different shapes and sizes, like animals mutated into something horrible. All of them had white masks, like skulls forged into newer styles. Glowing, bloodthirsty red eyes stared out from the hollow holes of their masks, and thick drops of sticky saliva fell from their mouths.

"_A delicious soul," _a snake-like monster said as he eagerly moved towards Kikyo, his huge tail lashing out at the smaller monsters that stood on his way. "_You will be our meal tonight."_

"P-please!" Kikyo begged as she tried to crawl away. "D-don't hurt me! Please! L-leave me alone!" Her eyes were still focused on the creature that was slowly edging towards her, as perspiration and tears down her cheeks. Kikyo felt very hopeless and helpless at that moment. She knew that she would not be able to escape the clutches of the monsters that surrounded her. She knew that she would die.

_What a horrible way to go, _she thought. _To be eaten by a group of vicious, unknown monsters._

It was a bit futile at that moment but Kikyo prayed that someone would come to her rescue. Someone powerful and strong enough to be able to defeat all the monsters that surrounded her that night.

The image of Kurosaki Ichigo flashed across her mind, making her ironically blush at that hazardous moment. It had been two weeks since her first conversation with Ichigo, and after that she knew that a bond of friendship had formed in between them. As stupid as it may seem, Ichigo was her main motivation to attend school everyday. She had a few more rare chances to see him smile and the more she saw it on his face, the more she wanted to see it again and again.

However, Ichigo had been busy for the last few days, doing something she didn't know about. She attempted to ask him about it but changed her mind at the last minute, because she didn't want to appear too nosy.

As she stared at the monsters looming in front of her, she silently wished that she had more time to be with Ichigo and learn more about him. His hobbies, his likes and dislikes, his family… there were lots of things that she wanted to ask about. But now, she realized how careless she had been, wasting the precious two weeks God had granted her before her life ended in a seemingly gruesome way.

She could see the monsters tensing and she knew that they were done waiting. Kikyo closed her eyes and waited for teeth to tear her apart.

Five seconds passed. Nothing. _Maybe they're deciding what to eat first._

Ten seconds passed. _Hmm, these monsters are pretty slow._

Fifteen seconds passed. _What the heck? Why can't these creatures decide more quickly?_

Twenty seconds passed. _Maybe they're fighting among themselves, because all of them want to have me to themselves._

Twenty-five seconds passed. _How long did it take for monsters to kill each other?_

Thirty seconds passed. Kikyo couldn't help it any longer. She cautiously opened her eyes.

The next thing she saw surprised her to the extent that she almost lost consciousness.

Ichigo was standing right in front of her, standing casually amidst the diminishing bodies of the monsters she had seen before. Kikyo stared at him with wide, indigo eyes, taking note of how beautiful he looked under the dim silver light of the young moon that had just risen. His tanned skin seemed to emit a slight glow, as his bright tangerine hair stood out like the sun in the darkness. His chocolate brown eyes weren't looking at her, but she could still see the sincere concern in his eyes. He was wearing strange clothes; a black hakama over a white kimono and a pair of traditional slippers. Kikyo's eyes dilated as she saw Ichigo holding a huge, deadly sword that was even bigger than her.

And that was when she noticed something different. This wasn't the Ichigo she had met before. He was something different…more inhuman…more powerful…

"K-Kurosaki-kun?" she muttered, keeping her shocked stare at Ichigo's form.

Ichigo's head snapped towards Kikyo's directions, and his chocolate eyes widened as he realized that Kikyo could see him. He had not expected her to be in the school that late, and he literally almost had a heart attack when he found her sitting in the middle of hungry Hollows, wounded and bleeding but with a peaceful look on her face, as if she already accepted her own death.

"Kurosaki-kun… what are you doing here? And why are you wearing those clothes?" Kikyo inquired, and attempted to stand up. But a sudden jolt of pain made her fall back on the floor. She had forgotten the wound in her thigh.

"Don't move, you might hurt yourself more," Ichigo told her as he carefully approached her. For a moment he thought that Kikyo was just a soul now, separated from her body just like Inoue when she was attacked by her brother, who had accidentally turned into a Hollow. But as he moved towards her, he saw that the Chain of Fate that was supposed to appear on her chest was not there, and so he was able to breathe in relief.

"Be careful of that sword, Kurosaki-kun. You might hurt yourself," Kikyo warned him as she looked at the sword with frightened eyes. Another sudden jolt of pain struck her, this time from the wound on her head, and she clutched her forehead as she tried to ease the pain by applying a little bit of pressure on her wound.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Stop worrying about me, and start worrying about yourself. You're pretty banged up." He sheathed his sword and walked towards her. As gently as he could, he lifted her up and jumped out the window.

"_W-What the hell are you doing, Kurosaki-kun?_" Kikyo screamed as she clutched Ichigo's shoulders as tightly as she could. They were jumping on the roofs of every house in the neighborhood, and Kikyo's mind could not register what was happening. She felt dizzy as she looked down for she had always been afraid of heights, and she buried her head on Ichigo's chest, muffling the screams that were coming out of her mouth.

"I'm taking you to Inoue," Ichigo replied casually as he easily jumped from one house to another. Kikyo could feel her stomach protesting and she prayed that they would get to their destination soon before she puked on Ichigo's clothes. "Why will we go to her?"

"You can't probably go home looking like that," he continued, glancing down at Kikyo's bloody injuries. "So Inoue would take care of your injuries. Then you can go home and explain why you're so late."

"What the hell would I tell my parents when I get home? That some freakishly horrible monsters came after me, telling me that I had a delicious soul and all that? I'd be shipped away into a mental hospital for sure!" Kikyo retorted, still fighting against the turbulent feelings in her stomach.

A moment of silence descended upon both of them.

Kikyo meekly looked up to see Ichigo's face, wondering why he was suddenly so silent. "Kurosaki-kun? What's wrong?"

"I'm just wondering," Ichigo replied, his face serious but confused. "How you are able to see me and those Hollows."

"Hollows?" Kikyo inquired, getting confused. What was Ichigo talking about?

Ichigo suddenly stopped and perched on the tip of an electric pole. Kikyo buried her head on Ichigo's chest once again, amazed on how balanced Ichigo was, and at the same time feeling ready to give up and vomit. She was really feeling very nauseous at that moment.

"Change of plans," Ichigo muttered and suddenly turned to a different direction. "I'm not taking you to Inoue. We'll go to someone I know who could answer our questions."

Kikyo just nodded in reply. She couldn't risk opening her mouth, just in case her sick stomach would take advantage of the situation. As nauseous as she had been, she couldn't deny a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. She couldn't understand how she knew, but she sensed someone watching them from a far. Watching and prying.

Two empty emerald eyes watched from a distance as a certain orange-haired shinigami hopped towards Urahara Kisuke's store. A spark of interest appeared in his dull, green eyes.

--

A/N: SIGH Any of you have any idea who Kikyo is? XD

Anyway, thanks for reading this story. Please review!


	3. Confessing a Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH

--

Chapter 3: Confessing a Dream

--

"Ah… so that's what happened," Urahara mused as he glanced at Kikyo's sleeping figure.

He was surprised to find Ichigo at his doorstep that night, carrying a bloody girl who strangely resembled Kuchiki Rukia. She lost consciousness as soon as he started healing her, and as he did, he noticed something slightly odd about her presence. It was strange, how unstable her soul was. Unlike normal humans, whose souls held no hint of reiatsu, Kikyo's soul contained a tiny flame that was flickering in a very strange way. It was as if something was inside her. Something powerful that was longing to get out, but Kikyo's soul continuously suppressed and rejected its existence.

"So…what do you think she is?" Ichigo inquired, glancing down at Kikyo, who was sleeping soundly. He noticed how calm and peaceful she looked, as if the memory of meeting a horde of Hollows was just nothing but a bad dream that had faded away. He admired how courageous she was, to be able to face death with no hint of forceful struggle.

"She might be just like the other humans who could see ghosts," Urahara casually replied, taking another sip of his tea. "There are many humans like that in Karakura town. However…"

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, looking at Urahara with intense, anxious eyes.

"Whoa, no need to look at me like that," Urahara chuckled nervously. Then he returned her serious gaze at Kikyo's sleeping form. "Something's strange with her soul."

"Strange?"

Urahara nodded. He inched a little closer to Kikyo, and stared down at her body with interested eyes. "Her soul's very unstable at the moment. Not as unstable as yours but unstable all the same. Something is inside her. Something that had awakened maybe a few days or weeks ago. It's not menacing, like your inner Hollow, but it is quite a bit powerful. I can't fully tell because all I could see are flickers."

"Flickers? Flickers of what?" Ichigo asked, growing more anxious as he stared at Kikyo with worried eyes.

"Flickers of an inner reiatsu, somewhere inside her soul. The thing inside of her wants to get out, but Kikyo's soul is amazingly strong that it continuous to suppress it," Urahara said, as he returned back to the coffee table and calmly took another sip of his tea.

"So, she's gonna be alright then?" Ichigo asked once again. "She's not gonna be attacked by Hollows anymore, right?"

"I'm not certain about that, Ichigo," Urahara replied, taking another casual sip of his tea. "I told you before. Her soul is unstable. The flickers of reiatsu are enough to attract a couple more hollows, and if bad luck is with her, it might attract even the interest of Aizen. Like me, he is constantly interested in humans with special capabilities."

Ichigo gritted his teeth. Just the thought of Aizen's smug face made him want to punch a wall.

"Then what are we going to do about her?" Ichigo growled.

"No need to be too angry Ichigo," Urahara muttered. "We don't need to lock her up or anything. We just need to keep an eye on her and protect her. That's all. And try our best to help Kikyo suppress that inner reiatsu."

Ichigo fell silent, and glanced back at Kikyo's peaceful, sleeping face. Ichigo knew that he was being too hasty, but he realized that his feelings for Kikyo had grown. It was stupid to fall in love too quickly, but he knew he could no longer deny it. The last two weeks he spent talking and hanging out with Kikyo were one of the few rare times he got to enjoy himself without fighting with others. Being with Kikyo had awakened things within him, things that were continuously buried by all the pressure of fighting against Hollows and also by all the painful memories that had accumulated through time.

Forgetting for a moment that he wasn't alone, Ichigo stretched out his hand and gently brushed away a stray strand of hair from Kikyo's face. His hand lingered a little longer, gently caressing her pale, flawless cheek.

"My, my, what am I seeing now?" Urahara suddenly mused out loud, looking at Ichigo with sparkling, amused eyes "Am I dreaming, or is Kurosaki Ichigo really in love?"

Ichigo hastily pulled his hand away from Kikyo and turned to glare murderously at Urahara. "Shut up," he hissed.

Urahara rolled his eyes, and took another sip of his tea, a smug grin appearing on his lips. "There's no need to deny it, Ichigo. It's normal for teens like you to fall in love. Good thing you finally did, anyway. I honestly thought that you had no heart for anything else except a good fight."

"I'm not Kenpachi," Ichigo grunted, frowning at Urahara. Urahara just shrugged and sipped his tea once more. "So what are you going to do now? Will you tell her about us?"

Ichigo didn't reply for a moment, keeping his concerned gaze on Kikyo's face. He saw a small smile appear on Kikyo's lips, and wondered what kind of dream she was having. But as she saw that smile on her face, he decided to do what he thought was the best for her. "I've decided," Ichigo replied. "That I'll keep everything from her until she releases a formidable amount of reiatsu. You said she was suppressing it, right? So let us let her fight it on her own. I don't want to take away the life she's used to, her peaceful and happy life with her family. I can't drag her to my world, and remove that smile on her face."

Urahara smiled as he looked at the fiery glare of determination in Ichigo's eyes. He had seen that same flame many times in the battle, whenever Ichigo would swear to protect those that he loved. But now that flame seemed a little different. It seemed stronger… and purer.

"So be it," Urahara replied, standing up from his seat. "I'm going to get the memory modifier."

"Thank you, Urahara-san," Ichigo said, as he looked up to Urahara with grateful eyes. Urahara smiled and winked at him. "My pleasure."

As Urahara disappeared from the room, Ichigo glanced back at Kikyo's relaxed body. His hand reached out once again, and gently caressed her cheek. Another smile appeared on her face, and her body unexpectedly turned towards Ichigo's direction. Before Ichigo was able to withdraw his hand, however, Kikyo's hand caught his and pulled it closer to her, cuddling it like a small pillow.

An intense blush appeared on Ichigo's face and he tried to pull his hand away from Kikyo's hold. But Kikyo held on and even tightened her grip on Ichigo's hand. "Ichigo," Kikyo suddenly whispered, making Ichigo freeze. He looked at Kikyo with shocked eyes, wondering if she had been awake all along.

But as he studied her face, he could tell that she was really asleep and was just sleep talking.

Ichigo sighed in relief, and watched Kikyo's face once more. She looked very fragile when she was sleeping, like a huge porcelain doll that could break at the slightest, misguided touch.

He watched her silently for a few moments, before he reached towards her again, with his other hand, and brushed away a few more stubborn strands of hair. As he gently tucked each of them behind her ear, Ichigo could hear Kikyo sigh.

"Ichigo," she whispered again, making Ichigo's hand stop in mid-air. "I like you too."

--

_Alone._

_She was standing alone in an unfamiliar place, which was constantly surrounded with a heavy fence of darkness. The ground was rocky and bare, her footsteps echoing endlessly through the eternal darkness. Trees grew around her as tall, mangled trees whose barks were made of ice and whose leaves were like jagged shreds of glass. They stood around her in a threatening way, making her unable to escape that horrid prison. _

_However, Kikyo did not feel any fear. She walked casually among the deadly trees, ignoring their sharp leaves or their icy bodies. She looked at the darkness with familiarity, as if she had grown accustomed to its presence. _

_She didn't feel at home, but she didn't feel uncomfortable either. It was as if she was visiting the home of a very close friend, a friend she had once forgotten but now remembered. _

"_It's unusual for you to come here and visit me," a voice echoed through the darkness. "Normally it would be me who would come to you and whisper in your dreams."_

"_Who are you?" Kikyo called out, surprised by how melodic and soothing the voice soundly. It did not fit the dead tone of their surroundings. "Show yourself."_

"_Now is not the time, my dear," the voice replied. "I am still tired and a bit sleepy. Something had woken me up quite violently, and I must say that I am exhausted."_

"_What are you talking about?" Kikyo asked, her eyes scanning the darkness as she walked around in a futile attempt to find the owner of the mysterious voice._

"_I have been living inside of you for a very, very, long time," the voice mused, and a beautiful breezy laugh broke through the lifeless monotone of the dark place. "I had always been inside you, ever since you were first born into this world after you had died in the other."_

"_Died in the other? Please, explain what you are saying to me! I am so confused," Kikyo pleaded, clutching her head in bewilderment. _

"_I told you before. Now is not the time Kikyo. I am still weak, and a bit shocked, due to the unexpectedly strong reiatsu that had suddenly flowed into me two weeks ago, and so I am unable to fully manifest myself and answer your questions," the voice whispered. "Until the time comes for you to awaken, you must enjoy your normal life as fully as possible."_

"_What-" Kikyo was cut short as a sudden blast of blinding light appeared from nowhere, making her close her eyes in defense as the entire scene faded into a bright glow. _

"_Live your human life to the fullest, Kikyo. Because it would not last very long," the voice echoed before vanishing completely. _

_Kikyo opened her eyes to see that she was once again in a completely different place._

_She was standing at the base of a small hill, looking up at the huge, singular pine tree that was perched elegantly on top. The sky was clear blue and only a few white wisps of clouds flew by. The sun was warm and heavenly as it shone upon the beautiful tranquil environment of that place. Flowers of different species blossomed on every corner of the hill, while butterflies flew around, creating various animated clouds of pastel colors. _

_Kikyo slowly made her way up the hill, pausing now and then to pick up a few flowers. She was dressed differently that time. Her torn up school uniform that she had been wearing in that other, icy dimension was replaced by a yellow tube dress, adorned by a thick, light blue sash around her waist. Her purple hair ribbon was tied into an elegant knot and a pair of deep-blue strapped slippers decorated her feet._

_She was walking up the hill in cheerful manner, all traces of fear and confusion completely disappearing. She had a feeling that someone was waiting for her, and she quickened her pace, picking a few more flowers and placing them in the small straw basket that she had been carrying._

_Kikyo gazed up the hill once again, and was surprised to find that there was really someone waiting for her._

_He was sitting down on the soft, emerald grass, his back leaning against the sturdy bark of the pine tree. The shadows caused by the thick needles of the tree danced against his beautifully tanned skin, while the fiery locks of his bright tangerine hair moved harmoniously with the passing breeze. _

_He was staring at her intensely, his warm, chocolate brown eyes filled with anticipation and love. _

_Kikyo stopped running, and stared at the person staring at her. He was beautiful._

_His presence was like the manifestation of a clear, fair summer day. The warmth radiating from his body, it was as if Kikyo was standing in front of a miniature sun that took the form of a godlike being. But unlike the natural sun, his warmth wasn't burning. Instead, he provided a refreshing sensation, the same feeling of warm blood rushing through her veins as the adrenaline pumped all throughout her body in moments of excitement and joy. _

_But what surprised her the most was that she recognized who the person was. And as she remembered his name, a scarlet blush appeared on her pale, white face. _

"_Ichigo." _

_The Ichigo in her dreams smiled gently at her, his characteristic frown wiped away from his face. He stretched out his hand, beckoning her to come to him. _

_Kikyo smiled back, and ran as quickly as she could up the hill. A trail of petals fell from her basket, as she scurried towards the looming pine tree._

_Ichigo smiled wider and gently took her hand as she reached the top of the hill. He pulled Kikyo towards him and she fell awkwardly on his lap. _

_He chuckled lightly as he saw how flustered Kikyo's face was. Her blush deepened in embarrassment. "How cute," he whispered to her, making Kikyo turn into the deepest shade of red. Another light chuckle escaped Ichigo's lips._

_He wrapped his hands around Kikyo's waist, and she yelped in surprise. Another laugh was released from Ichigo's throat. "Don't be too awkward, Kikyo. It hurts my feelings," Ichigo joked, pulling Kikyo's body closer to his._

"_E-Eh?" Kikyo stuttered. She was feeling very comfortable at that moment, and the feeling of Ichigo's body against hers was heavenly. But she still couldn't help but become embarrassed. "D-Don't you think it's a bit…too much to sit this way, Kurosaki-kun?" _

"_Call me Ichigo," Ichigo pressed on. He gazed at Kikyo's deep purple orbs with intense, brown eyes. "There's no need to be formal now."_

"_But-"_

"_Kikyo," Ichigo interrupted, using one free hand to gently hold Kikyo's chin and pull it towards him. Kikyo's heart stopped as she gazed once again into his breathtakingly adorable chocolate eyes. He was looking at her with so much love that she could barely pull herself together. His eyes held the expression she could have only dreamt of, and she indeed knew that she was dreaming._

"_Um… I-"_

"_I like you, Kikyo."_

_Kikyo stared at him with a dumbstruck expression for a while. She was feeling slightly disoriented at the moment, as the world seemed to spin around her. _

"_W-What did you s-say?" She stammered, wondering if what she had heard was just an illusion she had created._

"_I said, 'I like you, Kikyo'," Ichigo patiently repeated._

_Kikyo stared at him again, with the same dumbstruck expression. Ichigo chuckled and playfully ruffled her hair. "Is that so hard to believe?"_

_It is hard to believe, Kikyo thought as she stared at Ichigo's unbelievable smile and mesmerizing brown eyes. It was just too good to be true._

"_Do you believe me or not?" Ichigo asked, breaking through her chain of thought. Kikyo saw a hint of pain in his beautiful eyes. _

"_I-I didn't mean it that way! I… I believe you, Ichigo! I honestly do!" Kikyo hastily replied, looking at Ichigo with intensely serious eyes. Ichigo looked a bit surprised at her reaction. After a few moments of silence, Ichigo pulled Kikyo towards her, enclosing her in a warm embrace._

"_Thank you," he whispered as he slowly stroke Kikyo's long, raven-colored hair. _

_Kikyo closed her eyes as she leaned against Ichigo's chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. It was so wonderful to be under his embrace, knowing that he was right there with her, his arms wrapped protectively around her. It was something she had longed to feel. Something she had longed to experience._

_Something she remembered._

_Something began to nag her mind, something she could not identify. She forgot about something important, something greatly essential. _

_But she couldn't remember what it was exactly. Or who it was specifically. She just knew someone had also embraced her, the way Ichigo was holding her, in a place far from where she was, in a time that had been long buried in the past. _

_But right now she didn't care._

_Right now all that mattered to her was her imaginary Ichigo who was holding her as if his life depended on it. _

_It was a false moment of bliss that she wanted to treasure. A memory created by a desperate dream._

"_Ichigo," she whispered as she snuggled closer to him. "I like you."_

--

Kikyo opened her eyes and found herself in a room she did not recognize.

"Where am I?" she whispered, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand.

"In my house," a voice replied, and Kikyo turned to see Inoue sitting beside her. "How are you feeling, Haruma-san?"

"I'm alright… I guess," Kikyo muttered and stared out the window and at the dark night sky that were nesting a couple of sparkling stars. "What time is it?"

"Ten o'clock," Inoue replied.

"Ten o'clock?!" Kikyo shrieked as she hastily stood up. "Why am I still here?"

"We were both reviewing for a test, remember? You came over because you lost your bag and you had to copy my notes before you got home. But you fell asleep as soon as you finished. I didn't bother waking you up because you looked tired," Inoue explained, looking anxiously at Kikyo. It would be bad if Kikyo remembered anything about the Hollow attack in the school that afternoon.

"Oh…really?" Kikyo asked, looking confused. Her head was hurting a bit and her memories of the events before she had fallen asleep were severely distorted. She couldn't remember anything at all. "It's strange… I can't remember going here… I thought I was in the school…"

"You must be dreaming," Inoue pressed on.

"Huh? Er…maybe…hmm…yeah, I think I remember getting here…" Kikyo muttered and scratched her head as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. "You and I walked back her together…and then I slipped on the stairs…and then we chatted for a while…and the I started copying your notes, and you started serving me your strange meal…and then I remember I puked…and then I copied more notes…and then fell asleep…"

"Yes, yes, that's right," Inoue agreed, her right eye twitching in slight annoyance. _Why did Urahara-san have to include a memory involving my cooking? And he even made her puke…_

"I need to get home now… my family might be worried," Kikyo said as she lamely attempted to walk. But before she could take even two more steps, a wave of nausea passed through her and she almost fell head first on the floor if Inoue hadn't caught her in time.

"Haruma-san!" Inoue held on to Kikyo's limp body and looked at her with concerned eyes.

"Ah… I'm still feeling slightly sleepy…" Kikyo muttered.

"You can stay here for the night. We have no classes tomorrow anyway," Inoue replied, helping Kikyo back on the bed.

"No classes? But I thought that we were reviewing for a test?" Kikyo asked, looking at Inoue skeptically. She had a feeling that Inoue was hiding something from her.

"Ah…I knew that…but, I'm going away this weekend, so you wouldn't be able to copy my notes and so you decided to do that today. You really are sleepy, Haruma-san. You forgot a lot of things," Inoue hastily answered, chuckling nervously.

"Oh…" Kikyo was not convinced. But she was feeling slightly disoriented at the moment and she didn't want to think about how strange her friend was acting that night. "Okay. I'll just call my family."

"I already called them for you. They said it's alright," Inoue told her.

"Oh. Okay," Kikyo replied, closing her eyes. The headache was fading away but the drowsiness was slipping back. "Sorry for the trouble Inoue-san. Good night."

"It's alright, Haruma-san. Good night," Inoue said as she stood up and turned off the lights. She gave Kikyo one last look before closing the door.

_What will happen to her now? _Inoue reflected as she looked out the window with a worried expression. _It won't be long before she's exposed to the world we are in. When that time comes, what will she do?_

--

Stormy gray eyes stared impassively out the window as Byakuya gazed at the bright full moon on the pure, black sky. His long, coal black hair blended beautifully with the dark background while his snow white skin stood out, like a piece of snow on black, scorched grounds. His white kimono hung loosely on his lean figure as he stood beside his open door to admire the silence of the scenery.

He could not understand how he knew about it, but Byakuya sensed a change in the flow of time. Someone had arrived or awakened in the human realm. Someone seemingly essential to both his past and his future.

But still, as great as he was, he could not identify the source of the unknown nagging sensation he was experiencing.

His eyes grew clouded with confusion as an unlikely frown distorted his impassive features. It was strange for him to feel such feelings of anxiety, but at that moment, he was feeling exactly the same thing.

Someone was out there, in the dangerous human world. Someone with great importance to him, although he had no idea who that person was.

He tore his gaze away from the perfectly circular moon, and diverted his eyes towards the shrine where he kept the remains of his deceased wife. It was slightly opened for he had visited it a few moments ago, and as Byakuya stared at it, the picture of his beloved wife stared back.

"Hisana," Byakuya whispered to no one as he continued to soulfully stare at the picture of his wife. "What is happening? Why am I feeling these things?"

He kept his gaze on the picture, and sighed after a few moments of silence. Byakuya silently scolded himself for being so childish, as to wait for a reply from an inanimate object. Even if almost fifty years had passed, he still could not get over his wife's sudden death, after only a few years of living together.

The wounds that were carved deeply in his heart refused to heal, making him suffer in excruciating silence. All he could do was mask his torture with a dispassionate cloak, for he was not as self-sacrificing as to pretend to be normal or jolly when he was in pain.

Nobody knew of the real Kuchiki Byakuya that he had long tried to bury under the impassive mask that was slowly eating away his true personality. The personality he had when he had met Hisana for the first time.

The moon was slowly rising up the highest peak of the eternal sky, and the breeze was becoming colder. The light, pink petals of the cherry blossoms that were growing abundantly in his gardens were dancing gently with the wind, their shiny surfaces reflecting the dim, silver glow of the full moon. The pond glowed like an ever-reflective mirror, harboring ripples now and then, whenever the cherry blossom petals would stride on its mirror-like surface.

It was a beautiful night, but somewhere in Byakuya's real heart, he did not feel happy. A feeling of loss was engulfing him, as he nostalgically reminisced the happy days when Hisana was still alive.

But also somewhere inside him, he felt a strange sense of loss for someone he hadn't met yet, but was greatly important to him. Someone that was slowly moving away from him and towards a newer flame.

--

A/N: Ah! Poor Byakuya! TTTT

But never fear! Love is coming to heal those long, stubborn wounds! XD Stay tuned for the next chapters!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	4. Wake up and remember

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH.

--

Chapter 4: Wake Up and Remember

--

It was Sunday and Kikyo grudgingly walked towards the supermarket to do an early-morning food shopping. The blazing sun that was unusually hot on such an early time was burning through Kikyo's skin and thick droplets of perspiration flowed down her flustered cheeks. A scowl was fixed on her face as she walked through the almost bare streets of Karakura town as she reminisced how brutal Minami had woken her up that morning.

She groaned in pain as she gingerly touched the bruise on her shoulder that appeared after Minami had literally kicked her out of the bed.

"What the hell is the matter with her?" Kikyo grumbled, marching across the street. "Is she experiencing her period or something?"

But that was not the only reason why Kikyo was in a bad mood.

Her frown deepened as she remembered the strange dream that had been replaying itself in her head for the last two days.

_A girl was walking through the streets of an unknown village, filled with people wearing old-fashioned kimonos and straw slippers. It was a relatively poor village, where the houses were made out of scrap wood and straw and most of the children ran around barefooted because of poverty._

_She was dressed in a dirty, gray kimono that was ragged and torn at the edges. The girl was walking barefooted on the rough road, her feet scarred and calloused. Her short ebony hair fluttered slightly, as a passing breeze met her thin, frail body. Purple gray bags hung under her tired, indigo eyes as she struggled to continue walking._

_The girl was carrying something heavy on her back, something that made her groan in pain. The small cry of an infant broke through her groans and she hastily removed the basket from her back, and took the baby into her arms. She gently patted its back, and the baby's cries changed into silent whimpers. Finally, after a few more gentle caresses from the girl, the baby stopped crying completely, and fell sound asleep._

_The girl sighed in exhaustion as she placed the baby once again in the basket and carefully placed it on her back. As she started walking through the streets once more, her stomach growled hungrily._

_A few moments later, the baby started crying again. This time, the girl didn't bother comforting her. "Bear with me for a little longer," the girl whispered, as she continued to walk under the baby's weight. "I'll find someone to take you in. Someone who could take care of you."_

_The baby cried out once more, but this time her cries held a sense of desperation, as if the baby could sense what the girl was planning. _

"_I'm sorry it has to be this way," the girl added, answering the baby's unheard plea. "But this is the only way I could think of. If there had been another way where we could not be separated, I would gladly accept it, but there is none. Please try to understand, and don't hate me for this."_

_The baby who was a year old cried out once again, a solitary word escaping from her little, pale lips. "Onee-chan." (older sister)_

And that was when Kikyo would wake up.

Kikyo didn't know why she felt as if her dream was more than a dream, as if it was something more precious, more real… like a long, forgotten memory that was slowly being remembered. But she couldn't understand how she could remember such things. She knew that she had never been in such a poor village before and that she never met a girl that looked so much like her. And that baby… there was something about that baby that she could not place. Something special… essential, even. But she just could not remember.

Kikyo felt as if she was going crazy. For the past two days she had been receiving sudden dream attacks in the middle of the day. Wherever she was, no matter what time it was, strange images would suddenly pop into her mind, images she knew could only possibly exist in her dreams.

She groaned in horror as she realized that she might be going crazy under all the pressures of high school. _I mean, come on… why the hell would I dream about Kurosaki-kun dressed in this strange black kimono and killing strange masked monsters with a big, deadly sword? And you know what's crazier than that? Dreaming about Ichigo carrying me on his back and jumping from house to house in the middle of the night._

"Arrrgh!" Kikyo suddenly growled, startling a couple of early-morning shoppers in the supermarket. _This is too weird, _she thought, as she scurried away from the staring shoppers. _Not only did I dream about Ichigo confessing that he liked me, but then I'm dreaming about him being some superhero who rescued me from a bunch of monsters. _

Kikyo took a pack of eggs from one shelf and absently placed them on her shopping cart as she stared off into space, remembering the strange dream she had about a voice.

It didn't seem like a dream to her. In fact, it seemed more like meeting someone over the Internet. Someone who existed but was not yet there to meet you in person.

"Oi, your eggs are cracked," a voice disrupted her thoughts. She glanced down at her cart and found one egg leaking. A nerve popped in annoyance. "Dammit," she muttered darkly as she examined all the other eggs to see if there were more that were cracked. After she was satisfied by the results of her inspection, she turned to look at the person who owned the voice that had disturbed her thoughts.

Standing before her was a boy with an unsightly scowl and startling snow-white hair. He physically looked like a ten year-old boy, but the maturity that was very dense in his aquamarine eyes with a hint of sea green was very hard to not notice.

He was staring at her in a skeptical way, his eyes moving up and down against her figure, as if studying her like some kind of exotic animal. It was unnerving.

"Excuse me," Kikyo hissed, imitating the scowl that was on the face of the strange white-haired boy. "But can you please stop staring at me?"

The boy didn't budge from where he was standing and never removed his annoying stare on Kikyo. Kikyo's hands itched to slap some manners into him, but she was civilized enough to avoid slapping ten year-olds.

"Where's you mommy?" Kikyo snapped, attempting to give a serious sermon on respect and proper etiquette. It was obvious that this boy was not brought up well. Any well-mannered kid would avoid staring at you once you tell them to.

The boy's scowl deepened as he finally averted his eyes and walked past her without another word. Kikyo gritted her teeth as she noticed that he didn't even bother apologizing on how rude he had acted.

"What the hell is wrong with that kid?" Kikyo grumbled, as she replaced the cracked pack of eggs she had.

--

Once outside the supermarket, Hitsugaya Toushirou pulled out his special mobile phone and dialed a number. People stopped and stared at him, regarding his conspicuous white hair with distaste. The tenth squad captain ignored them, and casually placed his phone over his ear. After a few rings, a jolly voice answered at the other end of the line.

"It seems that you were right, Urahara-san," Toushirou said, as he walked away from the entrance of the supermarket. The sun was very hot, and perspiration rolled down his tanned cheeks. Unaccustomed to such hot weather, Toushirou moved into an empty alley and stayed beneath the shadow of one of the buildings in the area.

"I told you so. I do hope you would alert Seireitei about this. The Commander-general won't listen to my reports," Urahara complained, and Toushirou could almost imagine the ex-captain pouting at the other end of the line.

"That's because you are a fugitive, Urahara-san," he coldly pointed out. An irritating whine came from Urahara. "Ah, that's so cold Hitsugaya-taichou. You should learn to respect your elders, you know."

"Stop all the nonsense Urahara-san. Our main priority now is tracking down any activity that might involve the Arrancar. The attack on Kurosaki Ichigo a few days ago is something we should not ignore," Toushirou hissed, getting thoroughly annoyed by Urahara's carefree attitude.

"What about Kikyo-chan?' Urahara asked.

"We'll have to wait for Soul Society to decide. In the meantime, we would make sure to protect her. I already sent Matsumoto to do some rounds around that girl's house. We would be alerted if anymore hollows come after her," Toushirou replied, his frown deepening. "But if your inferences are correct, we might be in deep trouble."

"I know about that, and I am honestly hoping that I am wrong. All we can do now is wait," Urahara sighed.

"What do you think awakened this thing within her? This reiatsu of hers… it surely didn't exist before, or else she would have long died under all the possible Hollow assaults that would have occurred," Toushirou asked, as he mentally analyzed all the information Urahara had shared with him.

"I was thinking about that too, and I think I have a well-based theory," Urahara answered, his voice becoming serious. Toushirou listened carefully. "Haruma Kikyo and her family had just moved into town a month ago, and she enrolled in the Karakura High School, after two weeks. Kurosaki Ichigo is also enrolled in the same school."

"So you're saying…" Toushirou trailed off, realization dawning upon him.

"What you are thinking of now is correct. Yes, it is Ichigo's fault," Urahara gravely concluded. "We all know how unstable Ichigo's reiatsu is, and how explosive it can be. He really sucks in suppressing his reiatsu and so now and then, it leaks around and enters different beings. I think that his reiatsu seeped into Kikyo's body, and the thing that was sleeping within her for all the years she had lived had been forcefully awakened."

"So… her situation is somehow like Inoue's and Chad's…?" Toushirou clarified.

"Sort of," Urahara replied. "However, Kikyo is a slightly different case. The reiatsu in her… it wasn't anywhere near human. Unlike Inoue's and Chad's reiatsu which burned in their human souls, her reiatsu was disturbing… more like pure shinigami reiatsu."

"What do you mean?"

Urahara sighed, and his voice became a mixture of confusion and bewilderment. "I can't fully explain it because I have never been faced by something like this before. But… to simply place my theory… it's as if Kikyo's soul had been molded to be a vessel that would contain a shinigami's soul. Like a faux body for example, only that this body had a soul in it."

"So…you're saying that Haruma Kikyo could possibly be a shinigami?" Toushirou asked, his eyes narrowing into confused slits.

"Not her but the soul inside her," Urahara corrected.

"Urahara-san… don't you suppose an ex-captain had probably taken over Haruma Kikyo's body?" Toushirou suddenly asked, dismissing Urahara's correction.

"What makes you say so?" Urahara asked, surprised evident in his voice.

"Because when I moved towards her, a sudden wave of powerful reiatsu was released from her body, strong enough to physically crack an egg. It didn't last long, probably three seconds at most. But I cannot be mistaken. That reiatsu was at a captain's level," Toushirou replied.

"Eh? How interesting," Urahara mused, amusement thickly forming in his voice.

"Why do you think so?" Toushirou inquired, raising an eyebrow. It was hard to amuse genii such as Urahara Kisuke.

"The first time I met her – and that was two days ago – she was releasing reiatsu at the level of a lieutenant," Urahara replied, chuckling slightly. "I can see that she is growing."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Toushirou growled, anxiety forming in his mature eyes. "This is bad… I can see that she is losing control…"

"It might be because of Ichigo's influence," Urahara suggested. "His reiatsu might be forcing her reiatsu out."

"Possibly. But for now, we are not sure. It can be just a single shinigami's presence who can fully provoke her hidden powers to awaken. I had not sensed the slightest hint of reiatsu from that girl until I had been about ten feet away from her," Toushirou explained. Urahara mused loudly on the other line.

"That is possibly. Till then, all we could do is protect her but at the same time keep away from her, correct?"

"Yes. I will now inform the others about this situation. Excuse me," Toushirou said before snapping his phone shut. He slid his hands into his pockets and stealthily moved away from the supermarket and back to Ichigo's house where they were all going to meet.

--

"Why the hell do you need to turn my room into a conference area?!" Ichigo growled, as he glared at the shinigamis that were crowding his room. They had arrived three days ago, after those strange Hollows called Arrancar appeared in the park and almost killed him, Inoue and Chad. He had grown depressed the whole time, until Rukia had come back and brutally forced him to fight again. "What the heck are you gonna tell us, Toushirou?"

"I told you, it's _Hitsugaya-taichou! _Don't call me Toushirou, you bastard," Toushirou hissed, scowling at Ichigo who scowled back. It was almost noon and the sun was unbearably hot. The crowded room was making the heat worse.

"Whatever," Ichigo retorted, rolling his eyes. "Just go on with it."

Toushirou cleared his throat and then told everyone what he and Urahara had talked about. Ichigo listened attentively, and with every word, his eyes widened in shock. When Toushirou had finished speaking, everyone was staring at him with disbelief.

"It's all true," Toushirou added, irritated by how dumb-looking their shocked faces were.

"S-So it's _my _fault?" Ichigo gasped. "_My _fault that she was attacked by Hollows, that she almost died and was eaten? _My_ fault?"

"Now, now, Ichigo. Calm down. It's not your fault. Even if you hadn't met her, she still might have awakened the moment she stepped into Karakura town. You have no idea how spiritually strong the residents are," Rukia consoled him as she took note of the devastated expression on his face. She still wasn't aware of Ichigo's true feelings for Kikyo but she got the idea that she was already important to him.

"But-!"

"There's no use pointing the finger at yourself, Kurosaki," Toushirou coldly interrupted. "What we need to do now is to think of a way to protect her. With reiatsu like that, it would be a miracle for Aizen _not _to notice her. She might even drag her family into this mess."

"Is her family included too?" Yumichika suddenly asked. "I mean, do they have hidden reiatsus too? Because if that girl had such power, surely it would be hereditary and her mom or her dad would perform more inhuman tricks."

Toushirou shook her head. "No. We've been observing her family too for the past two days since that attack in the school, but they were as human as they can be."

"That's freaky," Ikkaku commented. Matsumoto shot him a glare. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Ikkaku."

"Who cares?" Ikkaku retorted. "I didn't want it to sound nice anyway."

Matsumoto swung her arm and a second later, Ikkaku groaned in pain as he nursed a big bump on the back of his shiny, hairless head. "You bitch…" he muttered as he glared at Matsumoto who smirked at him.

"How come it's like that?" Rukia asked, looking confused. When Ichigo had manifested his supernatural capabilities, she had also discovered that somehow, her family had some supernatural senses too. His younger sister, Karin, could clearly see and communicate with ghosts while Yuzu wasn't as accurate as her sister but she could also sense presences. Ichigo's father was an exception, but Rukia sensed something more in him. In summary, the Kurosaki family showed hereditary symptoms. How come that girl, Haruma Kikyo, was different?

"We still don't know," Toushirou replied. "We had done primary investigation and everything seems to be in place. She had a complete record since the day she was born until this very day. There had been no accidents or tragic events in her life that would have indicated any Hollow attacks. She had been living a completely normal life… until now."

"Because of me…" Ichigo muttered, as he looked at them with bewildered eyes.

"Stop saying that Ichigo! It's not entirely your fault," Rukia argued, but Ichigo failed to hear her. Ichigo knew that none of them could understand how painful it was for him to discover that he was the reason behind Kikyo's suffering. They didn't understand how deep his emotions were for her and how much he wanted her to continue living a normal, human life, without getting dragged into the chaotic war between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society.

"If I keep myself away from her… will her reiatsu subside?" Ichigo suddenly inquired. Toushirou frowned and shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know. We think that even the slightest presence of a single shinigami could awaken her reiatsu. Just like what happened in the supermarket this morning."

"So what are we going to do now?" Ichigo asked, growing desperate.

"All we can do is keep an eye on her and makes sure that she and her family wouldn't get hurt. But at the same time, we must keep our distance and make no form of contact with her in any way," Toushirou stated. "I will guard her tonight. We shall take shifts while we are watching out for any possible arrival of any Arrancar."

"Do you really think that Aizen would go after her?" Renji inquired, looking anxiously out the window.

"That would be the worst case scenario," Toushirou gravely replied.

A heavy silence descended upon the shinigami as each one of them greatly hoped that the worst would not come.

--

_She was back once again, in that wasteland that had been filled with icy trees growing deadly, gleaming leaves. The darkness was the same as before; neither menacing nor comforting. But all with the sense of familiarity._

_And yet, something had change. In the middle of the darkness, a majestic silver katana hung suspended in the air. The blade glowed in a mesmerizing way, its flawless surface reflecting an unknown light from a powerful source. The hilt was made from tempered steel gold, adorned with intricate carvings of exotic flowers and fire that produced an enthralling golden light. _

_Kikyo gazed at it longingly, wanting to touch the beautiful sword that was releasing such an enchanting white glow. She slowly reached out her hand._

"_Don't touch it," a voice suddenly bellowed, making her quickly snap her hand back. Kikyo frantically looked around, hoping to finally see the bearer of that mysterious voice that had disturbed her before._

"_Show yourself!" Kikyo called out, her indigo eyes warily scanning her dark surroundings. But still, nothing manifested in the plain darkness._

"_It is not yet time," the voice replied. "But I promise you that we would soon meet. Once my strength is replenished, and when you have fully remembered."_

"_Remembered what?' Kikyo inquired, bewildered by the mystery of the voice's words._

"_You had a dream the other night," the voice stated. "The one about a girl walking through a poor village, carrying a crying baby on her back."_

"_H-How do you know that dream?"_

"_That wasn't a dream, Kikyo. That was a part of your memories. A memory from your past life. When the time comes, you will fully remember everything about yourself. And then you will understand your destiny."_

"_But why at this time?" Kikyo cried out, a few tears falling from her desperate eyes. She wanted answers but the voice was not giving her any. Her mind was growing so confused, she felt as if she was going to explode at any moment. "Why not before? You said you were already inside me the moment I was born, right? And so, why didn't you show yourself when I was still a baby? When I was in preschool? When I was in junior high? Why only now… when I'm feeling so happy and contented with my life?"_

_She heard the voice sigh, and a familiar melody suddenly started to surround her. Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the unknown song that had always been heard in her dreams. At first she had thought that it was a lullaby her mother had sang to her when she was young, but when Kikyo had asked her about it, she told her that she had never heard of such a song._

"_H-How did you know this song?" Kikyo asked, astounded as the soothing notes of the beautiful melody rang through her ears. Every fiber of her body relaxed and she felt as if she was floating. _

"_Of course I know it," the voice mused, making the melody suddenly stop. "Because I was the one who sang it to you." _

_Kikyo's jaw fell as her mind processed the meaning behind her mysterious words._

"_The reason why I didn't show myself before was because I wanted you to have a normal human life," the voice explained, a hint of sadness meddling with the sound. Kikyo looked around with a partly confused expression. "There were times when I was tempted to manifest myself, to tell you all about me and about the hazardous future that you will meet. But then, every time is see you smile so happily around your family… I just couldn't tell you."_

"_But…" Kikyo whispered. "Why now? Am I not as happy as before?"_

"_That's not the case," the voice replied, sighing once again. "I didn't really plan to come out this soon. I was actually waiting for you to turn twenty so that you were mature enough to handle the situation. But as I said before, a shocking amount of reiatsu had flowed into you and had forcefully awakened my powers. There was nothing I could do to compress it back."_

"_What are you saying? What is this reiatsu?" Kikyo questioned, feeling more confused than ever. _

"_I will tell you what you need to know, but not now," the voice firmly replied, dismissing anymore pending questions. "I could sense peril on its way to meet you and therefore I want you to be ready."_

"_What-"_

"_As sad as it may be, I'm afraid that your happy days are over, Kikyo," the voice gravely said. "Though, I'm thankful that you had at least sixteen years to live a happy, normal life with the people you love." The voice started to fade into the nothingness._

"_Wait! Don't go! I have more questions!" Kikyo shrilly called out, desperately running around in search for the bearer of the mysterious voice. But only silence was courteous enough to reply._

Kikyo opened her eyes, and stared at the plain white ceiling of her room. Silver rays coming from the crescent moon flowed into her room, igniting every object it touched with its soft, white light.

Her mind was in turmoil, a complete contradiction to the serene atmosphere of the dark night. Again and again she asked herself. _Was it just a dream?_

But somehow, deep inside her soul she knew.

She was finally waking up and remembering.

--

A/N: Well yeah…I really have nothing important to say. XD

Anyway, please… read, REVIEW, and ENJOY!

Can you just please review? Cuz…really, I'm getting discouraged again…..-- I might not want to continue this story anymore….TTTT

ovalkyrievamp289o


	5. The Last Memory

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH.

--

Chapter 5: The Last Memory

--

"Good morning, Kikyo!" Her father greeted her as Kikyo entered the kitchen. "Wow, it's rare to see wake up this early," he teased, grinning at his sleepy looking daughter. His hand unconsciously brushed through his coal-black hair.

"Now, now, Izumi," Kanoko said as she placed a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Kikyo. "Don't tease your daughter so early in the morning. It's good that she had woken up early this time. Let's hope it turns into a habit."

"That's hopeless, mom," Minami retorted taking a piece of toast from the table before going to the fridge to get some orange juice. "Kikyo only woke up early today because she couldn't sleep last night. She was moaning all throughout the night, I almost thought she was masturbating or something."

"Minami! Don't think of such dirty things!" Kanoko scolded, glaring at Minami with a disapproving expression. Minami just shrugged as she sat down beside Kikyo who yawned.

"Why didn't you sleep well last night Kikyo?" Izumi inquired, putting aside his newspaper and staring at his daughter with concern. "Bad dream?"

"Sort of," Kikyo muttered as she limply poked her food. "It's more confusing than scary though."

"Would you like to talk about it, honey?" Kanoko offered taking her seat beside Izumi. She sipped her coffee slowly while keeping worried eyes on her youngest daughter. "Maybe talking about it would help."

"It's all fine, really," Kikyo replied and attempted to smile, though she knew it looked false. Minami raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you still acting like a zombie from one of those horror movies you disliked watching? You're usually upbeat every morning."

"It's hard to be upbeat when you've managed to sleep for only a few hours," Kikyo retorted, rolling her eyes on her sister. Minami just shrugged and continued eating her breakfast. "Who were you talking to by the way?" she suddenly asked after a few moments of silence.

"What?"

"I mean, in your dream. You were shouting, 'wait!' and 'don't go!' quite loudly," Minami explained as she looked at Kikyo with a questioning expression. "Your cries didn't give me much sleep either."

Kikyo stared at her sister's face, and noticed small, purple bags under her emerald eyes. She suddenly felt guilty. "Sorry about that," she muttered as she resumed to poke her untouched breakfast.

"I don't mind, but you could at least try to tell us what's bothering you," Minami pressed on. "It's not good keeping all your problems to yourself."

"Your sister's right, Kikyo," Izumi added, still staring at Kikyo with concerned eyes. "Whenever you share your problems with someone, you don't give them the responsibility of solving that problem. Instead you give them the chance to help you express yourself more easily and also to find suggestions for possible solutions. If you try solving everything by yourself, you'll slowly wither away in exhaustion. I don't want my daughters looking like grannies when they reach twenty."

Kanoko chuckled and Minami grinned at her father approvingly. Kikyo managed to finally smile and the feeling for confusion and bewilderment slowly slipped away.

"Thanks, dad," Kikyo replied, flashing a grateful smile towards her jolly father who winked back at her. She had always found her father's presence very soothing and his words of wisdom very meaningful. Everything his father had said was true to the purest meaning of the word, and it greatly applied to their everyday lives. She idolized him above anyone else and wanted to be as great as him one day.

"So… will you tell us about your dream now, Kikyo?" Kanoko asked, gazing at her daughter with gentle, comforting eyes. Kikyo had always found those loving brown eyes relaxing, and felt every trace of uneasiness of discomfort disappear. She had always loved the way her mother looked at her and Minami, and how protective she was during times of danger.

"It's something I cannot explain clearly, so I hope you wouldn't mind," Kikyo started, taking a deep breath as the attentive eyes of her family focused on her. She narrated to them all about her dream, and described the different feelings she had felt before. She purposely missed out the fact that she had been having strange dreams before, as to not arouse the anxiety of her parents.

When she had finished, she found her family looking at her in a very strange way. "Er…what's wrong?" she asked them cautiously, wondering if they thought she had gone crazy and was contemplating on sending her to a mental institute.

It was her sister that broke the uncomfortable silence. "You've been secretly watching horror movies, weren't you?" Minami accused, looking at her skeptically.

"No! Why the heck do you think that way?" Kikyo replied, looking annoyingly at her sister. If there was one thing she disliked about her, it was the way she talked. Her voice always held a sarcastic tone that accused anyone she was talking to, even if she didn't actually mean it. That was why Minami had a few friends in college and that no guy had bothered to be her boyfriend.

"Your dreams are nothing to worry about, Kikyo," Izumi interrupted, his voice light, but Kikyo was keen enough to notice a small amount of anxiety in it. She frowned at this. Why would her dad be anxious about a dream that didn't make sense? Normally it would be mom who would take it seriously, while dad would dismiss it as a joke. But now he was acting very strange… as if he was keeping something from her.

"Try to eat your breakfast Kikyo," Kanoko suddenly broke through her thoughts. "Even if you woke up early, that's no excuse for playing with food."

Kikyo glanced at her unappetizing plate. She hesitantly ate a piece of overly abused bacon on her mouth. "Sorry about that mom," she muttered while chewing.

"And no talking when something is still in your mouth," Minami sighed, rolling her eyes. "Seriously Kikyo, you need to remember your manners."

Kikyo snorted. "Talk to yourself Minami. You're the one with the sharp tongue."

"Shut up, you klutz," Minami hissed back. Kikyo glared at her murderously.

"Now, now, stop arguing in front of food. It's very impolite," Izumi reminded them, as he looked at both of them with stern, emerald eyes. But still, Kikyo could see that deep within his father's eyes, something that was moving restlessly. She didn't know how she knew, but she could tell that he was hiding something from her. Her indigo eyes discreetly flashed from her father's face to her mother's undisturbed brown eyes. They looked calm enough but Kikyo could still see anxiety in them. The fear of having a secret exposed.

Kikyo grew bewildered by this frightening secrecy but she knew better and so she kept her mouth shut on the matter. Minami didn't appear to be part of what her parents' knew and that was, in a way, a relief to her. She wouldn't know how to react once she finds out about a secret her family had kept so selfishly from her.

"Anyway, it was just a dream and nothing else, so I don't think it should bother you too much Kikyo," Izumi added, dropping his gaze and keeping his eyes on the newspaper he was holding. "Though its perfectly normal for you to be afraid, it will pass."

Kikyo unwillingly shrugged, gazing down at her plate with a downcast expression. She had hoped that it would pass. Unfortunately, it _didn't _and the more her fear grew.

Izumi glanced up from his newspaper, and seeing the despairingly look Kikyo gave her plate, sighed loudly, which attracted the attention of Kikyo and the rest of his family. "Fine, how about this? After school later, we will pick you up and then we'll all go to the beach. How about that?"

"_Really_?" Kikyo exclaimed as her eyes dramatically brightened up and the look of complete bewilderment being wiped away from her face. A small smile tugged at the corner of Minami's lips as she regarded her sister's unusually swift change of mood with amusement. She had always liked that part of her little sister; how she easily laughed after crying, how she easily smiled after wincing in pain whenever she fell down. Kikyo would smile or laugh easily in moments of distress, through the use of the simplest forms of entertainment. Minami almost chuckled as she watched how happy and anticipating Kikyo's eyes were, like the eyes of a child who was promised to be given candy after she had tripped on the road and scraped her knee.

"Yes," Izumi replied, beaming down at his youngest daughter. The feeling of unease that had stirred inside him slightly disappeared as he looked at Kikyo's excited smile, her sparkling indigo eyes seemingly distant, as if she was already imagining herself at the shores later that day, running on the sand and gazing lovingly at her most beloved place on earth: the ocean.

"We'll be there at around four-thirty," Kanoko added, a gentle smile on her lips as she saw what her husband and Minami had seen on Kikyo's face. It was so easy to make her happy, to please her, to make her jump up and down with joy. However, Kanoko realized with slight concern, that it was as easy to make her cry, to make her depressed, or even worse, to make her suicidal. She silently feared for her daughter's future, if one day some bastard of a man would marry her and then leave her, broken and unloved. Kanoko quickly shook the thoughts away from her mind, banishing them into some unknown dark void where all evil thoughts were supposed to exist. _She would never do that, _Kanoko thought, although it sounded like she was assuring herself more than confirming the truth. _Kikyo is a strong girl. I can see it in her eyes. She will never give up that way. _

"Thank you! Thank you! _Thank you!_" Kikyo screamed in bold happiness as she rushed out of her chair and gave her father and mother each a tight hug and a quick but sweet peck on the cheek. She had longed to see the ocean after her family had moved to Karakura town a month ago. They had resided in Tokyo before, which was a city in the purest sense. The nearest resemblance to the ocean that she had seen there were the sewers and the smelly canals that ran through the city. She had once loved Tokyo though, and was reluctant to move into Karakura town, not only because it was where she had grown up, but also because she knew that she would miss that sprawling, busy city, where life passed by so fast you could accuse every clock as false.

But then, as she soon learned that Karakura town was stationed near an ocean, and that a public beach was just thirty minutes away from their house, she packed her bags that very moment and decided to sleep in the car, so that she wouldn't be left behind once they leave their old residence.

"But I think you should forget about the ocean for a moment Kikyo and try to glance back at the clock. You have barely thirty minutes left to finish your breakfast, grab your things and walk out of this house," Minami sharply reminded her, and Kikyo stuck out her tongue in rebuke. "Not to mention the time it would take you to step on a wandering sock and slip, fall down the stairs and forget that we have a doormat then trip again. That would give you a fair fifteen minutes to get ready, you spineless klutz," she added, smirking as she watched Kikyo's face turn red with mixed embarrassment and anger.

Kanoko sighed exhaustedly. "For the last time Minami, stop teasing your sister. You'll only be here for a week before school starts in the university you're enrolled in. At least try to avoid any more of your childish brawls for one more week." She looked at Minami with a disapproving look once more, a look Minami disregarded with a simple shrug.

"I guess it slipped, mom. Sorry 'bout that, sis," Minami absently said as she ate the last of her meal. Kikyo gritted her teeth in annoyance. Her sister didn't sound the least bit sorry.

"Kikyo, ignore your sister and start preparing for school," her father prompted her again. "You wouldn't want to get to school late and stay in detention for the rest of the afternoon do you? Today's my only free day and I don't think we can have anymore trips to the beach until your sister gets back for winter break. And that would be _months _away."

That alone was enough to propel Kikyo's body and make her rush back to her room like an automatic missile. She anxiously stared at the clock as she brushed her teeth and as she threw in her books and homework into her school bag, stuffing them inside so brutally she mentally wondered if she would still be able to distinguish the difference between her notes and her homework. She shuddered. She knew she wouldn't be able to. Her notes were just as messed up as her homework.

She almost fell down the stairs in her hurry, and the red tint on her cheeks deepened as she heard Minami's amused laugh that sounded nice but still insulting, and so Kikyo walked out flustered by both her embarrassment and anger.

Distracted by the muffled sound of Minami's laughter, Kikyo failed to notice a plant pot on her way. By the time she noticed it, her foot had already tripped over it, making her lose her balance and land butt first on the soft, moist ground. It didn't hurt much but the high peals of laughter that Kikyo heard as she glanced at Minami who was watching her from the window was enough to make smoke literally steam out of her ears. She stood up and gasped in dismay as she found out that her skirt was stained by mud. She silently cursed the sky for making it rain last night, and marched back into the house, ignoring Minami completely as she angrily stomped towards her room. As she was head towards her closet, she again didn't see a lone sock on the floor and slipped on it, making her – fortunately – fall towards the bed. She didn't feel any pain, since the bed had cushioned her fall, and she didn't feel embarrassed either. Instead, the feeling of bewildered crept back to her system, making her wonder why she was experiencing such an amount of accidents so early in the morning. She knew that she was a klutz, but she knew that she wasn't that _bad. _Only one or two accidents would occur on a normal morning, but today that gods had graced her with three.

In the corner of Kikyo's mind, a nagging voice started to whisper eerily, repeating again and again that what she was experiencing was a bad omen. Something told her that something bad was going to happen that day.

_Nonsense, _she mentally snapped, silencing the nagging voice. _It's just my excitement about the trip to the beach that's all. I can't concentrate well and so I fall and trip some more. Nothing more. Just pure coincidence. That's all._

As soon as she had changed her skirt, she immediately went out of the house, ignoring the laughter of Minami that echoed all throughout the house. She wanted to get to school as fast as possible, and it was honestly not because she didn't want to get detention for being late.

The truth was, she wanted to see Ichigo. She wanted to see him badly.

The last time she had seen him was last Friday, and she noticed that he had been acting weird ever since that event. He turned up at school a few days before, covered with bandages and bruised all over. The sight of him almost gave her a heart attack.

She desperately wanted to ask him what happened, to know what she could do to help and to ease his pain. But somehow, when she looked up to see his depressed mahogany eyes, she knew that he would answer none of her questions. He had been slightly distant those past few days, staring of silently on a blank wall, or stopping at mid-sentence whenever he was saying something, and then moments later, he'd shake his head and glanced at her with his sad eyes once again, then say, "Nevermind."

She had also slightly noticed a change in her friend Inoue. She was very lively and bouncy before, but like Ichigo, she suddenly became more sullen and once miraculously lost an appetite for anything. Tatsuki had looked at her with great anxiety during those moments of strange distress.

But when Ichigo had attended school that Friday, he seemed almost like the Ichigo she had first met when she arrived in Karakura High. He no longer held that depressed expression in his eyes. Instead, she found a fire burning fiercely; a flame that comforted everyone whom he held dear, and wildly threatened anyone or anything that would dare hurt his loved ones. Kikyo had felt comfort when she had looked up and met his warm, brown eyes, and wondered if she was just imagining the loving glance that suddenly appeared in Ichigo's eyes as he looked at her.

_I'm nearly disillusional, _she thought, silently groaning in the horror of becoming insane over a boy she had met only two weeks ago. But still Kikyo silently hoped that it was love that she saw in Ichigo's eyes.

--

"Are you going to tell her?"

Kanoko was washing dishes silently as Izumi continued reading the newspaper as he sat in the kitchen. She heard the sound of paper being shuffled stop, and she almost guessed what her husband had been thinking of.

"I think now is the time," Izumi finally replied, his voice grave and tight. Kanoko could hear paper being crumpled and she turned her head to see Izumi gripping the newspaper tightly, his veins almost popping out of his skin because of the pressure. Kanoko sighed as she carefully dried her hands and slowly approached her tense husband. She placed her hands gently on his shoulders and started to massage them. A second later, Izumi's body started to relax under her touch, and he sighed wearily as he replaced the newspaper on the clean, kitchen table.

"Her dreams are the signs that she is waking up, Kanoko. We can't keep this from her any longer. We're even luckier that sixteen good and peaceful years were given to us," he continued, the strain still in his voice and in his clouded, emerald eyes that darkened under the shadows of his eyelids, creating a darker, olive-like color.

"We could still try to wait, you know," Kanoko quietly protested as she took her seat beside Izumi and stared at him with helpless brown eyes. "I don't want to lose her, Izumi."

"She is not ours Kanoko," he firmly stated, although the pain could be clearly heard from his voice as he said this. "She was just entrusted to us, for safeguarding, until the key awakens from her deep slumber. Or specifically, until the key fully regenerates."

"Why this soon? I thought that they said it would take about twenty years or more? She's just sixteen, Izumi. She wouldn't be able to handle it," Kanoko pleaded, desperation flooding into her voice. The thought of Kikyo entering a world unknown to the whole human race, a world filled with swords, blood and violence… just the thought of seeing Kikyo's innocent face mingle with the bloodstained bodies of those inhuman creatures dressed in haunting black kimonos… she found herself wanting to vomit.

"We – have – no – choice," Izumi replied through gritted teeth, each word spat out with great grief and difficulty. "If we keep on waiting, her power might start leaking out and attract those _things_. And you know what I mean, Kanoko."

Kanoko gulped, her hands shaking violently as she remembered the first night Kikyo had appeared in there midst, along with two mysterious women, both dressed in jeans and matching black shirts. She remembered that it was raining that night, and how scared she and Izumi were when the women approached them, and how startled they were when they handed them a white bundle where a crying, purple-eyed infant was. And she clearly remembered that heavy feeling she felt that night, as if there was something surrounding them that night. Something that reeked of menacing evil, of pure hunger and bloodlust. She remembered the dreadful feeling and shuddered. And then a vague memory of the bodies of the two women suddenly falling on the ground, their eyes hollow and inert, as if their souls had suddenly fled from their bodies.

And she remembered how both she and Izumi looked around, hearing the strange hiss in the air, as if something sharp, like an invisible sword was slicing through it. And she remembered, like a dawning nightmare, how the bodies had risen up again, like zombies from hell, and how haunting the night turned when one of the women explained the situation to them, and begged them to keep the baby. Although struck with disbelief of the story the women had told them, they accepted the baby into their lives.

"We have to give her up, Kanoko. No matter how painful it might be," Izumi continued, his eyes closed in a painful way, as if he was struggling to stop his tears from falling. "Our happy days are over."

"Don't say that!" Kanoko suddenly shrieked, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes. She was starting to sob hysterically, and for a moment she tried to stop her tears, wary that Minami might hear what they were talking about. But then the sound of rock music coming from Minami's room indicated that she would not be able to hear a thing.

Izumi took his wife into his arms, and hugged her tightly as a few desperate tears escaped from his eyes. He gently stroked her wavy, vermilion hair that glowed under the soft golden light of the sun, like early morning embers. The pain in his heart was throbbing and he knew that it would not be easy to tell Kikyo the truth.

At first Kanoko and him had decided to raise Kikyo in the most distantly humane way they could imagine. For the first few weeks it had worked: they didn't give her any special attention, kept her away from Minami who was four years old during that time, didn't give her any toys and never gave her any form of affection, like a hug or even just a slight smile. They regarded her as something like a supernatural form of responsibility, a babysitting task from aliens.

But soon enough, they grew to love her. He had noticed Kanoko visiting the baby more often than usual, and he often caught her playing with the baby whenever she thought that he wasn't around. He tried to talk her out of it, but she struggled, and soon he too found himself drawn by the baby's beautiful, innocent smile, a smile that would never had come from murderous aliens. And so, soon enough, they gave the baby a name and a surname, and raised her like their own daughter.

Yes, it was painful for both of them. Very painful. And the pain was not eased by the fact that both of them had seen it coming.

"She's _our _daughter, Izumi," Kanoko insisted, staring at him with beseeching eyes. "I know I didn't give birth to her, but _we_ raised her Izumi. _We. _Not those creepy women. _Us. _It was us who saw her walk for the first time, _us_ who taught her how to live. It was_ us, _Izumi. Not them. And so, we have every right to keep her with us."

"Stop this, Kanoko," Izumi muttered. His wife's hysteria was not helping him calm down the fierce storm of emotions that was whirling inside him right now, causing him enough emotional pain that would have driven any other person crazy. _"_Just stop it. I've decided. I'm going to tell her the truth. And then it will be up to her to decide. Whatever she chooses, I will support her with my last breath. That would be my last responsibility as the person who fathered her for sixteen years. No more. No less. Until my very last breath, I will support her every decision, because I know that she's grown enough to know what is good for her."

"But-"

"Trust her, Kanoko. Trust Kikyo. Trust her the way any real mother would trust her real daughter. That would be the last thing we could do for her, the last gift we could give as parents who had raised her for sixteen years and gave her that beautiful smile that she has now."

Izumi looked at his wife with a solemn, determined look, and Kanoko knew that she had lost. More tears escaped her eyes, and endless whimpers poured out of her lips. Izumi continued holding her in a tight, protective embrace, afraid that if he lets go, Kanoko would break apart.

"I love her, Izumi. You know I do," she whispered in between sobs.

"Yeah, I know. And I love her too."

--

"It's the sea! I can see it dad! _I can see it!_" Kikyo excitedly squealed as she pressed her face upon the window of their minivan. Her eyes widened in pure joy as she watched the lapis lazuli shade scatter all through out the infinite ocean, lightening now and then wherever it was shallow and darkening to almost pitch black wherever it was deep.

She had been almost depressed that whole day when she realized that Ichigo wasn't in school. But almost all of her sorrow was drowned out by the sound of the waves beating against the shore.

They parked the minivan, but before they even came to a full stop, Kikyo excitedly jumped out of the car, running wildly towards the beach, her arms open and outstretched, as if she was welcoming a long-loved friend or relative.

"Oi, that's dangerous!" Izumi called out to his daughter as he got out of the minivan. But Kikyo didn't seem to hear him. She was already busy kicking off her shoes and running around the soft, white sand and towards the calm shores. The few people who were there in the beach that afternoon looked at her curiously.

"Seriously, she's going nuts," Minami mused, a grin on her face. Her emerald eyes watched as Kikyo played with the cool, ocean water and laughed loudly to herself. She sighed contently as her younger sister's laughter echoed all through out the area. It was the laugh she had always loved, one of the few more things she treasured about her sister. It was so breezy and free, like the wind on a fair summer day. Hearing that laugh was like hearing someone tell you that everything will work out in the end. That everything will be all right.

"Let you sister have her fun, Minami," Kanoko said as she took out their picnic basket and a mat from the back of the van. "It's rare for her to see the ocean. And _please _don't tease her today, okay?" She heard Minami grunt an annoyed "yes" in reply, but she could also hear the smile in her daughter's voice. A small, sad smile appeared on Kanoko's lips as she turned away from her eldest daughter. She didn't know what would happen to Minami once she finds out the truth about Kikyo.

"Dad! Mom! Minami onee-chan! Hurry up!" Kikyo called from the beach. Izumi chuckled as he started walking towards the beach, helping Kanoko carry the loaded picnic basket with one arm and holding on to his sketchpad with the other arm. He glanced at his wife and noticed the sad look on her eyes.

"Kanoko," he whispered, making sure that Minami was out of hearing distance. "Let's enjoy this afternoon with Kikyo like any other afternoon. Let's make the best of it, and treasure everything about it." He turned his head and released an intense, warm gaze of love and understanding towards his wife. Kanoko looked slightly dazed. "Please don't spoil this last memory with that sad look of yours."

Kanoko managed to smile, a small strained smile, but then Izumi saw the sad look slowly slip away from her eyes. He sighed in relief and flashed her an encouraging grin. They continued their walk towards the spot they had chosen in the beach, while they watched Kikyo play around the shore and splash water on a slightly flustered but happy Minami.

"I'll get you for that, Kikyo!" Minami exclaimed as she cupped another handful of water in her hands. Kikyo screamed playfully, but before she was able to get a few steps away, she felt coldwater splash upon her. Minami laughed heartily as she looked at Kikyo's drenched figure.

"You'll pay for that Minami onee-chan!" Kikyo cried out and started splashing Minami with water nonstop, like some machine gun full of ammo.

Both of them laughed happily, not minding their wet clothes and the cool afternoon breeze that was beating against them, making both girls shiver slightly.

Kanoko watched as her daughters played around, beaming smiles on their faces and their laughter, echoing around like a beautiful song. Izumi also watched them with thoughtful eyes, as his hand skillfully moved on his sketchpad, a pencil in hand as he started drawing and preserving the scenario.

As the day started the end, the blazing ball of fire that lay suspended in the clear blue sky finally decided to set, leaving a trail of twilight darkness in its departure. The whole Haruma family watched as the sun gently and gingerly touched the surface of the ocean, transforming the dark blue hue of the ocean, into a bright, refreshing tangerine. Kikyo stared at it with fascinated eyes, as the sun seemed to mold and unite the earth and sky together, somewhat creating a bond at those few minutes before it finally went down. An awed gasp escaped her lips as she watched the breathtaking and beguiling harmony that beautiful sunset created.

As the last few deep orange rays peeked from the horizon, Minami, Kanoko and Izumi started packing their things. But Kikyo stayed near the shore, watching the dimming horizon and the spreading purple darkness that started to surround her. Stars meekly appeared and she could see a silver crescent rising up at the other side of the sky.

As if by mental agreement, the three of them, Minami, Kanoko and Izumi, stopped what they were doing and looked back at Kikyo who was still standing motionless, in front of the ocean that she loved. A thought ran through Izumi's and Kanoko's mind as they watched Kikyo's raven hair move gently against a passing breeze.

_A last memory, _they both thought, a sad look appearing in their eyes as both of them realized that their dream was over.

Minami on the other hand, somewhat felt the same way her parents felt. As she looked at her younger sister, the sister she had spent sixteen years of her life with, the sister she always played with and protected, the sister she often teased, the sister she often argued with, the sister she often laughed with and the sister she had always, always loved with all her heart, she felt hollow at that moment, a feeling of dread passing through her body. She didn't understand why she felt that way, but deep in her heart she sensed the bitter truth: That Kikyo was going away.

Kikyo didn't hear any of their thoughts, but as they all simultaneously looked back at her, she felt a chill run down her spine. At first she thought that it was just the cold wind, brushing against her damp skin. But then, she slowly realized that it was something else.

The bewildered look appeared on her face once again, but this time she feared not her dreams but something else. Something greatly painful and excruciating. She unconsciously clutched at the area above her heart, the way she always did when something pains her, when something seems to be breaking her heart into pieces. She didn't know why she felt that way but somehow, she felt as if she was alone at that moment. It was the same hollow feeling she had after she left her friends in Tokyo behind when they decided to transfer to Karakura town. But this time it was deeper, a lot more painful.

It was as if she was leaving her family behind.

--

A/N: Pretty sad and happy story at the same time right? Hehe… I probably gave you quite a concrete idea on how clumsy Kikyo was. XD

Spoiler 101 #1: the next chapter would probably be more dramatic and devastating. So I'd rather you try to spare some money and buy a whole box of tissue. XD

And I know you've noticed but Byakuya didn't get to be mentioned much, did he? Never fear! In the following chapters, you will be seeing more and more of Byakuya and also more of Ichigo. This is a ByakuyaXHIsana(OC)XIchigo love story for heaven's sake. It's like, duh, they'll be competing for her. And…

Spoiler 101 #2: It would be one HELL of a fun!!

And so, my avid readers (XD), kindly leave a meaningful review and stay tuned for the next chapters!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	6. Reminiscing and Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH

--

Chapter 6: Reminiscing and Awakening

--

"That bastard, Ulquiorra… It was _really _stupid of him to let that shinigami live," Grimmjow grumbled as he and his Arrancar subordinates stepped into the silent, human world. It was early that evening, and most families would still be in their houses, eating dinner or probably watching TV together. None of them sensed the arrival of the vicious inhuman creatures into their world.

A garganta opened in front of him, and five Arrancar stepped out. Grimmjow gave them no welcoming smirk, or even a snide remark. Instead he fixed his deadly, cerulean gaze on them and asked them sharply. "No one saw you, right?"

"Of course not," one of them, a tall man with a dropping face that held a slight aristocratic touch said. On his head was an ivory mask made of bone, concealing his left eye and the top of his head. It grew in an angular way, ending as a razor tip at the right side of his head. He stared at Grimmjow with stern, alarmed eyes. "Grimmjow!"

"What?" Grimmjow asked, his glare fixated on the tall Arrancar.

"We felt several strong reiatsu on our way here," the Arrancar stated, the alarm vivid but not strong in his almost impassive dark eyes. "it doesn't match up with Ulquiorra's information."

"Tsk," Grimmjow reacted, showing small signs of annoyance but not at all surprise. "Start a full-blown search now!" He barked out, and the Arrancar immediately obeyed, each one of them closing their eyes in serious concentration. Grimmow closed his eyes too, and waited for his reiatsu to spread over the town, seeking for anyone else with threatening reiatsus.

One, two, three, four… there were eleven sources.

"It's just as I thought," Grimmjow mused, not a hint of fear in his voice. "They've multiplied.

Grimmjow and the Arrancar opened their eyes at the same time, and he stared at each one of his subordinates, his frightening blue eyes giving out orders that no one else could hear.

"So they called back-up from Soul Society, huh?" Grimmjow added, casually moving his hand through his pale blue hair that was almost the color of his eyes. An annoyed tone appeared in his voice. "If he wasn't so full of shit and just killed them to start with, it wouldn't be such a pain in the ass now."

He glared at the horizon with hateful eyes, imagining Ulquiorra's emotionless face in the sky. "That's why you're so stupid, Ulquiorra," he spat out, both wearily and angrily. He had hated Ulquiorra and his stupid, impassive face for as long as he could remember. And he hated his stupid logic and how Ulquiorra worshipped that damn shinigami, Aizen.

He turned back towards his subordinates and identified each one of them by name. "D-roy," he called to an Arrancar with a strange white mask that looked like a huge sailor's hat and a wild look in his eyes. "Shawlong," he named the previous aristocratic looking Arrancar whom he had conversed with earlier. "Edorad," he turned to a huge, bulky Arrancar with a small white mask perched on the bridge of his nose like ivory spectacles. "Illforte," he told a good-looking Arrancar who had long blonde hair and maroon eyes and a strange white mask that looked like a strange form of crown. And lastly, Grimmjow turned to an overweight Arrancar who had a mask that looked like a skull covering half of his face. "Nakim."

Grimmjow looked back at the city and stared at it with maniacally bloodthirsty eyes. "Let's take over this area," he said in an eerie, wild voice. A mad, sadistic grin appeared on his lips. "Kill everyone, no matter how little reiatsu they have!"

--

"Kikyo, would you come with me for a moment?" Izumi suddenly said, breaking the silence the family shared as they ate their dinner. All of them were unusually quiet on the drive back home from the beach, and Izumi at first presumed that it was just because of exhaustion that all of them were unlikely silent. But then as he had tried to crack a few jokes over dinner and only received unenthusiastic grunts and nods in return, he thought otherwise. As strange as it may sound, Izumi felt as if the dread he and Kanoko had been feeling that day had spread and corrupted both his two daughters.

"Um, sure," Kikyo replied, rather awkwardly. Minami glanced at her sister with a skeptical look, mentally asking her what she had done wrong. Kikyo frowned in return, shrugging as she herself pondered what she could've done that day to earn an uncharacteristic one-on-one talk with her father.

Kanoko immediately guessed what Izumi was planning, and looked at him with a discreet, beseeching expression once again. Izumi casually dismissed it with a sigh. He stood up from his seat and slowly walked towards the front door, signaling Kikyo to come and talk to him at the porch. Kikyo, slightly bewildered by the unexpected gesture, clumsily stood up and almost spilled her glass of water on Minami's dinner.

"Oh, come on, Kikyo!" Minami groaned as she hastily took hold of the glass before it toppled over her dish. Kikyo muttered a silent apology in reply, but didn't care much about her sister's glare as she followed her father to the porch. That day had been a very strange day for her and she couldn't decide for herself if that day had been a good day or a bad day. Somehow, it was strangely a mixture of both.

She found her father standing in front of their iron gate, silently gazing up at the bright crescent moon that was gracefully suspended up the pitch black, almost dark purple sky. Specks of white sparkled all around as stars made their appearances known.

"Dad?" Kikyo asked, hesitant. She had no idea why she had been called out that night, and she wondered what she had done wrong to earn a sermon from her father. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Kikyo," Her father replied gently, and although his voice was warm and comforting, his eyes kept their distant gaze on the silver moon. "There is just something I need to tell you, that's all. Something that I know would be hard to understand, but I also know that you would be able to get over it soon."

"What are you talking about that?" she nervously asked, getting scared by how eerie and pained her father's usually jolly voice seemed. It was mere intuition that told her that what she was about to her was something she would not like and that it was something that would change her life whether she liked it or not. She desperately wanted to run back to the house, to lock her bedroom door and tell her dad to shut up and stop saying anything weird to her. Anything that might connect together the strange events that had been occurring in her life for the past few days.

But somehow, it was also her intuition that told her to stay there. To stay there and listen to whatever her father was going to say. _Because whatever it would be,_ her intuition told her. _It would be the truth._

"You are my daughter, Kikyo. And I love you very much. Remember that Kikyo, and never forget about it. You are _our _daughter, and _we _would always be your parents whatever happens and whatever you choose," Izumi started, keeping distant gaze on the moon that shone on his emerald eyes, providing an inhumanly beautiful green glow. He could sense that Kikyo was bewildered and confused, and he himself wondered if what he was doing was the right thing. He wondered if he was too reckless this time to misinterpret nightmares and he might be making some mistake.

But it was also intuition speaking to Izumi that told him that it was the proper time. He was not being mistaken and it was the right choice.

"I know that already dad!" Kikyo replied, gazing at Izumi with total confusion. She could not understand why her father was telling her all this. "I am your daughter, dad! And I always will be! How could you tell me to remember something that I could never forget?"

"Please just listen to me first, Kikyo. Listen to me first," Izumi said, his voice degrading into a pleading whisper, as he finally tore his gaze away from the moon and turned to look at his daughter's bewildered face. Something tightened in Kikyo's chest as she looked at the devastated expression that was clearly written in her father's eyes. Her mouth opened as if to say something, and then slammed shut. She bit her lip and nodded towards her father's direction, keeping her eyes away from her father's face.

"It all began sixteen years ago, when Kanoko, Minami and I first moved into Tokyo because of a job offer. Things weren't doing so well for us during those days and we were just staying in this small room at the second floor of a creaky apartment building. I could even remember Kanoko complaining now and then about the area and Minami – who was four years old during that time – finding a cockroach every now and then. Your mother was scared out of her wits," Izumi mused, the distant look back on his eyes as his mind journeyed through the past. A grin appeared on his face as he reminisced those funny memories but it was empty and did not reach his eyes.

"It was the night after my twenty-seventh birthday, I think," he continued. "I remember that night so clearly, it was as if it just happened yesterday. It was raining hard that night, and lightning flashed relentlessly across the sky, followed by the roar of thunder. Minami fell asleep as soon as the rain started and so we weren't worried about her being scared with the lightning. It was late, around eleven o'clock, and Kanoko and I were leafing through that month's bills, wondering where we could get a loan for our expenses. We were pretty broke during that time, and we were really worried about Minami who was about to enroll in preschool. Both of us sat around the cheap, wooden table, a cracked mug of bitter coffee in our hands, and both our eyes focused on the bills that were on the table."

Izumi found his voice fading away in the background, as he plunged deeper into the memories of that night, the night their lives were changed forever.

_He was sitting stiffly on his uncomfortable chair, staring solemnly at the electric bill that was the most disturbing bill among the rest. He cracked a few jokes now and then, making Kanoko smile and chuckle momentarily before succumbing back into their depressed state. He had often wondered why she had not left him despite all the hardships both of them had experience in their marriage. He had run away with her, right after both of them had finished college and a few months after that he found out that Kanoko was pregnant. He was happy during that time, but now, he was unsure, wondering what kind of life he would give to his daughter who didn't seem to notice much wretchedness in the world. _

"_We'll get through this Izumi," Kanoko's gentle, beguiling voice interrupted his dark thoughts, making him feel a bit better. "We've survived until now, and I know that we'll continue surviving." _

_Izumi managed to smile at his beautiful young wife, observing how bright her eccentric orange her was. He loved how warm her mahogany eyes were, and he silently cursed himself for giving her such a hard life. _

_The rain beat roughly against their glass windows and a few leaks appeared at some corners of their house. Kanoko had fixed the problem by stuffing a towel and some clay in the holes and for a while their apartment room was dry. The wall clock ticked eerily on one corner, indicating that the time was ten minutes past eleven. _

_Izumi noticed the dark bags forming underneath Kanoko's weary eyes. "I think you should go sleep Kanoko. I'll take care of the rest."_

"_No, I don't want to sleep yet," Kanoko replied, stifling a yawn. "I want to stay here with you."_

_That moment would have been perfectly sweet had not a rough knock interrupted their warm thoughts. Izumi glanced curiously at the door, then at the clock and wondered who would be knocking that late. _

"_Were you expecting somebody?" Kanoko asked, looking as confused as he was. Izumi shook his head, and gave the door one last look before another sharp knocking sound convinced him to go and open it. _

_Izumi stood there for a moment, staring at the pair of women in front of her, one of them carrying a small white bundle in her arms. They were both wearing plain dark jeans and matching plain black shirts. One of them was taller, and she had strange long silver hair, with piercing magenta eyes. Her companion was smaller than her by two inches, and she had short, wildly curly red hair with golden eyes. Both of them looked human, but Izumi sensed something special in them. Something inhuman and powerful. _

"_Who are you?" He finally managed to ask after what seemed like an hour of staring. He could sense Kanoko coming from behind him and he kept his wary gaze on the two strangers who were drenched because of the rain._

"_Are you Haruma Izumi?" the smaller of the two women asked and Izumi was surprised at how young the voice had sounded. The maturity in the eyes of the two strangers was enough to tell Izumi that these two were far more experienced than he could ever be. _

"_Yes, I am, and may I ask who are you and what are you doing in my doorstep at this late hour?" He countered, staring at them with suspicious emerald eyes. _

"_We don't have time to explain," the taller one replied in a sharp, powerful voice that was filled with so much authority that Izumi almost cringed away from her. But he didn't want to appear cowardly to these strangers and so he held his ground. "I want an explanation or I'm slamming the door at your faces," he demanded, glaring at them indignantly. _

_The taller one scowled while the smaller one sighed in exasperation. She stepped forward, and Izumi automatically stepped back, almost stumbling upon his wife who was standing behind him. _

"_Don't be afraid," the woman said, stretching out her hand and with the tip of her right forefinger, touched Izumi's forehead. Izumi gasped as images rushed into him, knowledge about things he never knew existed filled his mind. His hand accidentally touched Kanoko's hand in surprise, and he felt her stiffen and gasp. He had a vague idea that she too was seeing he things he was seeing in his head. _

_After what seemed like forever, the woman stepped away and Izumi saw the images disappear, while the knowledge was deposited in his mind. _

"_What the –"_

"_Now that you know of us, we are now giving you a responsibility," the tall woman interrupted, still scowling as she handed Kanoko the white bundle that she had been carrying. _

_Kanoko stared at it with complete disbelief as the white bundle started to move and finally the smiling face of an infant peeked through the protective cloth. Its purple eyes blinked as the infant gazed at Kanoko curiously for a moment, before squealing happily and reached out to Kanoko for a hug. Kanoko hug the baby awkwardly, her eyes glancing uncertainly to her husband before going back to the two strangers by their door. _

"_Do not worry about the expenses," the redheaded girl added. "We have deposited seven million yen in your bank account. That would be fairly enough for the baby's expenses and for you to have a better life with your family." The silver-haired woman tapped her shoulder gently, and the shorter one took the envelope that was suddenly revealed out of the taller woman's shirt. She handed it to Izumi who took it with shaky hands, still wondering what the hell was happening to them that night. _

"_That is the baby's birth certificate and hospital records," the woman explained. "Your name and your wife's name are on it. From now on you are the baby's legal and biological parents to the eyes of everyone else."_

"_S-so… we're adopting h-her?" Kanoko stammered, still unable to believe what was happening that night. She looked at the baby in her arms, who had stopped asking for hugs and had fallen sound asleep despite the roaring noise of the rain. _

_The silver haired woman nodded. _

"_Don't tell her anything about tonight," the redhead added. She looked at both of them gravely. "Make her believe that she is your daughter and raise her as one. Don't try to pursue her past either, because that would be meaningless. Let her live happily with you for at least twenty years."_

"_What do you mean by 'at least twenty years'?" Izumi inquired, looking at her with a bewildered expression. _

"_That baby has power in her," the silver haired woman replied. "We showed you who we really are and you know all about us. It's unsafe for you to know too much but it is likewise when you know too little. But we will not tell you about that child's past. It is up to her to remember. And according to our calculations, it might take her twenty years to do so."_

"_That's why, please," the redhead continued, looking at them with golden, begging eyes. "Raise her with as much love as possible. Because once she remembers who she truly is, she will need as much love as possible."_

_They stared at them silently for a while, both their eyes pleading and hopeful. Izumi hesitantly glanced down at the sleeping baby in Kanoko's arms and noticed how the baby's black hair was identical to his own. He thought about Minami who was sleeping in her room, and wondered how she would react if she finds out that she had a baby sister. _

_He looked back at the two women with an uncertain flame of determination in his emerald eyes. His intuition told him that what he was going to do was going to cause his death but he didn't care. The gentle peace that he saw on that baby's sleeping face was enough to motivate him. _

"_I'll accept her."_

Kikyo listened with horrified attentiveness, her ears straining to hear every word, while her mind straining to rebuke the meaning behind every word that had escaped her father's lips. Surely he was joking. Surely he would pause and then turn to her with a mischievous grin on is face, and say, "Just kidding," and then they'll laugh about it all night. She hoped it would be like that. She prayed it would be like that. Kikyo wanted to place her hands over her ears, to muffle out the sound of the words that her mind continued to deny but her heart and her intuition continued to accept. She didn't want to hear any more. She didn't want to face that terrible truth, the truth that had somehow given her hints about her existence. Kikyo didn't want to remember all those times when she would notice how much she _didn't _look like her sister, how much she _didn't _look like her mother and how she clung on only to the color of her father's hair, pretending that she had inherited her hair from him.

But now the truth had snapped at her so fiercely, she couldn't stop the tears of despair that fell from her eyes. It hurts. It hurts her so much. That truth, that truth that had been hidden from her for sixteen years, only to be provoked by a bunch of dumb dreams. Oh, how she wished she had just lied when they asked her about her nightmares! She could've lied, and then she wouldn't have heard all these horrible revelations about her and her past. She could've lied, she could have, but she hadn't. Why was that? Because it was her damn intuition working again.

_Your happy days are over, _she heard the voice from her dreams once again. _It's over Kikyo. It's over. It's all over. _

"Shut up!" she suddenly screamed, startling both herself and Izumi. She looked at Izumi's struck expression for a moment before a whole dam of tears poured out of her red, puffy eyes. She heard her mother in the house, and she knew that she would soon be surrounded. Surrounded by people who pretended to be her family for almost sixteen years. People who she would have trusted with her life. People who lied.

"Kikyo, I –" Izumi started but was soon cut off by another devastated wail that came out of KIkyo. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear anymore!" she screamed, tears flowing out violently and staining her pale cheeks. She didn't bother looking back to see her father's pain-stricken face as she slammed their front gate open and ran out into the streets, not knowing where to go but only filled with the desperation to get away from her house, from her family, from the sad, bitter truth.

_It's over, Kikyo._

--

"This reiatsu –!" Ichigo gasped as the images of the two Arrancars he had faced before flashed across his mind. "It's them!"

His head snapped towards Rukia, his eyes wide with alarm and pending fear. Fear not for himself but for the people around them. People he didn't know if he could protect.

"Rukia!" He exclaimed alarmingly, although Rukia had already sensed their presences too. She stared at the screen of her special mobile phone with outmost horror. "I know!" she hissed back in anxiety as she counted the flashing red units that appeared on the screen. "One, two, three…. Six of them?! So many!"

"Are they headed this way?" Ichigo inquired anxiously, thinking about his family and how much danger they were in. Two Arrancars almost killed him, and now, six?!

"No," Rukia replied, straining to control the fear in her voice. Her wide indigo eyes were fixated on her phone. "It looks like they're after people with reiatsu, but not us."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ichigo demanded, growing bewildered under the pressure of that situation. But there was something else that almost made him insanely scared. When Rukia had talked about reiatsu, only one person popped up in Ichigo's mind. _Kikyo, _he desperately thought. _I pray to all the gods that you are all right._

"It means that they're going to attack anyone with reiatsu, regardless of their strength," Rukia almost screamed back, looking at him with wide, panicked eyes. "They're just trying to kill everyone with reiatsu, no matter how little they have."

And finally, the bitter truth sunk into Ichigo's brain. He didn't feel any form of relief, heck, he would have been a lot more thankful if he found out that they were after him, and him alone. But to think that they're on a hunt, a bloody hunt for those with even the slightest shred of reiatsu… Ichigo felt his insides twist into a knot inside his body. Even the slightest hint of reiatsu… He remembered the conference they had in his room, and how he remembered Toushirou describing the flickering reiatsu inside Kikyo at almost a captain's level. If there was one thing that would attract those Arrancar the most, it was strong reiatsu. Freakishly strong reiatsu.

"What about the others?" he almost shouted in anxiety. "Ishida should have no reiatsu now… how about Chad and Inoue?"

"Hitsugaya-taichou (captain) and Matsumoto fuku-taichou (lieutenant) are close to Inoue. She should be safer than anyone else. But Sado," Rukia paused and a gasp escaped her lips. " Sado has one coming towards him at this moment!"

At that, Kikyo was momentarily wiped away from Ichigo's mind.

--

Kikyo ran and ran through the deserted streets that were just dimly lit by a couple of street lamps. Tears continued flowing down her eyes, and she often needed to slow down a bit because she had a hard time seeing the road with her tears.

Her father's story echoed endlessly through the hollow depths of her mind and she found herself slowly starting to accept the painful truth. But she didn't stop running. She didn't want to face them yet, to face that horrid reality that they weren't really related at all. She would have felt better if she was told that her real parents were just the second cousin of her father or her mother… that would have at least been comforting because in a way they were still somehow related by blood.

But the fact that strangers appeared in the middle of the night, holding a baby in their arms and giving it to her parents as if it was just some package or appliance being delivered… she couldn't take that. That pain was just too great.

She knew she was running somewhere, and she knew, as she turned a corner, that she was headed towards Inoue's house, the only friend's house she had been in since the day they had moved into Karakura town. Kikyo imagined how pitiful she looked. She hissed at herself and roughly tried to wipe away the damp trails on tears on her cheeks. She must look really pathetic.

She was almost at Inoue's house. Only a couple of blocks away. As she turned the corner, Kikyo neglected to see a small rock sticking out of the street. In her usually clumsiness, she tripped, landed brutally on the cemented road and rolled over for a few seconds. More tears fell from her eyes. They were tears of pain, but also of embarrassment. She had twisted her ankle and now her right leg was swelling.

_Dammit, _she thought as she watched the swollen redness of her foot. She struggled to stand up but shots of pain running through her body pinned her down on the asphalt. She groaned as she realized with complete shame that she would be crawling towards Inoue's house. More tears poured out. She felt pathetic and hopeless. She was the weakest person in the world.

_Dammit! Dammit! Damn it!! _She screamed in her mind. _I'm the most useless, helpless, hopeless, dumbest, lamest, weakest, clumsiest, stupidest girl in the whole universe! I can't get out of the house without falling from the stairs, I can't friggin' notice a stupid stone on the path, I can't-_

But her self-hating monologue was interrupted as a sudden unknown pressure engulfed her body. It was so heavy, she felt as if she was going to be flattened on the ground. It was an ominous kind of pressure, filled with menace and the need to kill. Kikyo found it hard to breathe, her lungs feeling cramped. But that was not all. A few seconds later she felt something explode within her, something hot and powerful. Some heavier but more comforting than the outside pressure she had felt before. That explosion lasted for a mere three seconds and Kikyo felt as if she was flying, her body seemingly floating. But then, after that wonderful feeling of freedom came the horrible feeling of attraction. The outer pressure she felt before was pushing and pulling on her body, and the inner pressure did likewise. It was as if she was the rope in the game, Tug-of-war, and she felt as if her body was going to be torn apart. No air could come inside her lungs and no words could escape her mouth. She was trapped.

But then that horrible feeling stopped as soon as Kikyo felt something drip down on her hand, which was pressed against the cement to keep her torso upright. She glanced down at it with a dazed expression, still not able to recover from the deadly pressure she had felt a second before.

Something dripped from the sky. Something bright red.

Blood.

Kikyo looked up and saw the boy she had seen a day ago in the supermarket, floating up the sky with huge wings made of ice, and blood flowing from different wounds in his body. His body radiated of power, although that power seemed to be suppressed and weakening at the same time. Opposite of him was a monster dressed in white, covered with white things that seemed like bones. A sinister aura surrounded him, and Kikyo felt the horrible pressure once again.

But the sight of the two of them was enough.

The energy that had long been hidden within her, the power that had been sleeping for over sixteen years had finally opened its eyes and awakened. And in its awakening, it made sure that everyone, everyone who had even the slightest trace of reiatsu, sensed its presence completely.

Even if they were miles apart, every human, every shinigami and every Arrancar stopped whatever they were doing and turned towards the direction where a completely unknown, unpredictable and devastatingly power reiatsu exploded into full wrath.

--

A/N: Whistle…..awww……poor Kikyo…… next chapter we'll see some bloody action! I mean…er…we'll READ some bloody action! That's it! Har har har!! XD

Mind you manners and review! XD

ovalkyrievamp289o


	7. To Choose and To Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH.

--

Chapter 7: To Choose and To Fight

--

It was as if time had stopped for her.

Or maybe not stopped, but slowed down to the hundredth degree.

Time was not the issue. The real problem was what was happening around her. Yeah, that was the _real _big problem.

For a moment Kikyo felt as if the whole world stopped at that moment. She saw everything with amazing clarity and superior disbelief. She couldn't possibly believe that what was happening to her was possible.

At that exact moment, at that exact second when she had laid her eyes upon the frost haired boy and the menacing monster he confronted, something exploded within her. It was nothing physical, it didn't hurt one bit but it was a startling amount of force that created an absurdly big hole beneath her. So strong that it had created a crater underneath her while walls and infrastructures that were five miles away manifested an ominous crack.

It was completely insane, she knew, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was really happening. She couldn't tell herself that she was just hallucinating because what she felt was _real _to the purest sense of the word. She felt something coming out of her body like a strong, steady breeze, invisible yet filled with destructive power. She could feel energy rushing through her veins and adrenaline pumping quickly all through out her body. Kikyo felt excited, energetic, heavenly and powerful at the same time. What was that? She had no time to answer herself, because at the corner of her eye she saw someone approaching her. Kikyo didn't know who it was, but the murderous intent that pulsated disgustingly from the creature's body was enough to alarm her. She didn't know if she could get away in time.

But then the strangest thing occurred to her. She was so sure that the creature was running towards her, by the way its feet were moving, but its speed made it seem as if it was just strolling. She could see the vista rush by, as if they were both in a freight train that was whizzing through the valleys, but the creature continued to move against the rushing movement and seemed to be running but quite so slow. Kikyo found herself frowning in confusion as she tried to contemplate on what was happening. She looked up once again and found the creature seemingly diving towards her, a fist sticking forward, and she bit back a giggle as she noticed how ridiculous the creature looked. He was floating through the air as if he was flying on a descending path and not really diving at all. But then, when she sensed the inhuman aura the creature emitted and the sadistic, almost mad blue eyes he had, she stepped aside.

Just stepped aside.

Grimmjow's fist crashed on the ground where he had seen Kikyo a split second earlier. He looked aside and found her casually standing their, her eyes in a confused frown, as if she was wondering how a monkey was doing its magic tricks. A snarl escaped his lips. He didn't like that kind of look.

"Pretty fast, aren't you?" he leered then twisted his body to strike a kick on Kikyo.

But Kikyo saw it differently. Her confused frown deepened as she heard Grimmjow's comment. She wasn't at all fast. It was him that was slow. All she did was step aside. But now she saw him twist his body, and after spending years of watching his older sister – now stepsister – practice her martial arts skills, Kikyo knew what Grimmjow was trying to do. And so she stepped away again. Not ran away but just casually stepped away. His kick missed her by three inches.

"You bitch," Grimmjow hissed, getting more and more restless as he watched Kikyo's undaunted, wondering face. He growled as he saw her raise her eyebrow in almost pure confusion, but Grimmjow thought he saw mockery in it. "Eat this!"

He pointed his palm towards Kikyo, and she momentarily wondered what sort of trick he was going to do next. Until she saw something glow at the center of his palm. Something dark but shadowed by a deep red color. Every fiber of her body told her that danger was coming and she looked around to find a place where she could avoid it. Her intuition told her that the safest place was the top of the commercial building that was just beside her, and so, as ridiculously as it may be, she tried to jump to the roof.

She jumped and she almost knew that she was going to fall right back but, as she checked herself again, she found herself incredulously suspended in the air, moving upward and toward the roof top. As soon as her feet touched protective rim that surrounded the open roof, she heard an explosion that almost made her lose her balance. She looked back and found a huge, black beam shoot out of Grimmjow's palm, destroying everything it touched.

_What the heck –? _She thought, bewildered at how the street, the trees and the surrounding walls of every house disintegrated under the beams strength. She watched as one of the houses got dissolved into ash and wondered with growing horror what became of the people that were living inside.

"_What the hell are you doing, you bastard!"_ Kikyo screamed wildly, startling all the other Arrancar and shinigami who were starting to approach. Even Grimmjow was taken aback by the shrill voice. "_There are people living there! Stop blowing them up!"_

She had no idea what overcame her, and the onlookers had no idea how she did it, but she suddenly jumped off the roof and landed right in front of Grimmjow, and slapped him. Hard.

Grimmjow couldn't, at first, comprehend what was happening. After he heard a scream, he turned to look at the source but the moment he laid his eyes on the roof, Kikyo was already gone. And then he felt a sudden presence in front of him but before he could react, something flat and heavy connect with his cheek, with an incredible force that twisted his face away and Grimmjow found himself flying until he collided against the hard asphalt.

Kikyo stared at Grimmjow's flying body with great shock. She had not meant for her slap to be that strong. Actually she _never_ thought her slap would be that strong. She had just wanted to teach that strange creature a lesson for killing all those innocent people. That was all. As she watched collide violently against the street, Kikyo wondered if he was dead. _I just wanted to teach him a lesson, _she thought, horrified. _I never meant to kill him._

"_Kikyo!_" she heard a voice call on to her. A voice so familiar and so comforting at that situation. A voice that she would have given up anything just to hear.

"Ichigo?" She asked incredulously as she turned around. She first watched the tousle of bright tangerine locks sway around his head in a chaotic mess. And then she saw his beautiful, mahogany eyes that she had longed to see that day. His appearance was unexpected to the degree that Kikyo saw him as an angel amidst her day of hell. She saw him running towards her, and unlike the way she saw Grimmjow, Ichigo was not moving in an eerie slow motion environment. He was running normally, and fast, as he made his way towards her.

"Kikyo," he exclaimed as he reached her. Before Kikyo was able to say anything, Ichigo had pulled her into a tight, partly choking embrace. "I was so worried," he gasped and Kikyo almost thought that he was weeping. "I was so sure that he had killed you."

"I'm okay, Ichigo," Kikyo whispered back, her heart beating wildly. She was sure that her face was red and that she looked really stupid right now. But Kikyo couldn't help it. She was with the boy she had been dreaming about, his arms wrapped around her protectively, the way he did in her dreams. _It's like a fairytale, _she foolishly thought as she sneakily wrapped her arms around Ichigo as well. _Where everyone lives happily ever after._

"_It's not over yet!" _A roar snapped her out of her thoughts. Ichigo gently pushed her away and told Kikyo to run to a safe place. Kikyo looked at him with worried indigo orbs and Ichigo gazed back at her, his confident eyes overwhelming the fear in her heart. "Go and hide somewhere. Just make sure he won't see you. I'll take care of him."

"But Ichigo, what if you get hurt?" Kikyo inquired, her voice broken and uncertain. She didn't want to leave his side. She didn't want to leave Ichigo alone and face that monster.

"Trust me," Ichigo said, giving Kikyo a brief smile before charging towards a wounded Grimmjow. She just stood there for a moment, staring at the deadly battle between Ichigo and that white monster that she feared as well as hated. And then she moved away, the sound of swords clashing together still ringing in her ears.

She looked up towards one of the buildings again and decided to jump up. The miracle repeated itself and Kikyo found her self perched on the top of the commercial building once more. She looked up and again spotted the rude, white-haired boy a little farther way, looking worse and weaker than ever. His opponent on the other hand, didn't even have the slightest scratch. On one of the buildings, she spotted a woman dressed in the same black garment that Ichigo and the boy were wearing. She was struggling against the weight of one of the white monsters, which seemed quite overweight. Her voluptuous breasts were threateningly bouncing around, in danger of complete exposure. From a few miles away, she sensed people, no, inhuman creatures, battling against each other. She felt as if she could feel their pain, their desperation, and their dedication to win. She closed her eyes in concentration, as she tried to look for others, to find out where they were.

_Shinigami._

Kikyo opened her eyes in startling shock, staggering back a little. The voice in her mind was talking. Yes, it was the same anonymous voice in her dreams. That gentle, enchanting voice that made every word sound like a song.

"What did you say?" she muttered to thin air.

_Shinigami._

"_As in Death God?" _she asked in her mind, as she strained her mental ears to listen for the voice.

"_Shinigami," the voice repeated. "The people in black that you see around you are called shinigami. They are the ones who give rest to lost souls and slay Hollows; souls that have lost their hearts and have turned into monsters."_

"_Why are they here? Why are they fighting here?" _Kikyo continued asking, desperately in search for answers to the confusing situation she was in.

"_To fight for the safety of the human world," _the voice replied, and deep within Kikyo's mind, she saw a figure step out of the everlasting darkness. Kikyo gasped, both mentally and actually as she stared at the person coming out of the ominous pits of her mind.

A girl, no more than seventeen years old, stepped out of the darkness with as much lithe and grace as a ballerina or a deadly panther. She was dressed in a tattered white kimono that looked more like rags than clothes, but it hung delicately on her slim and statuesque figure, masterfully following the flawless contours of her body. Nevertheless, it was her face that struck Kikyo most of all. It was absolutely, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Beautiful glowing, red eyes stood out from the clear, almost transparent complexion of her skin. Her perfectly straight nose was conspicuous on her heart shaped face, and lusciously full red lips opened slightly and turned into a warm, friendly smile, exposing her perfect, white teeth. Long, waist-length ebony hair hung elegantly on her shoulders, so black that it almost seemed nonexistent with the dark background.

"_Hello, Kikyo,_" she said, in the same melodic and mesmerizing voice. "_I'm Kira._"

Kikyo couldn't react. She was too flabbergasted by what she had seen. It was such a shock for her to find out that an impossibly beautiful creature was living inside her the whole time she had been alive. When others would have been normally proud, Kikyo felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown on her. For her, the situation was something to be ashamed of. It was like placing a priceless diamond inside a garbage bag. _How could such an amazing creature be imprisoned in an ordinary person like me? _She thought, bewildered by Kira's unearthly splendor.

Kira laughed lightly, as she heard Kikyo's thoughts. "_Don't insult yourself Kikyo. You are more than worthy to be my host."_

"_I don't think so," _Kikyo sulkily replied and another stream of giggles escaped Kira's lips. Kikyo found Kira's laugh a wonderful and pleasant thing, and so the self-hate and envy in her heart grew.

"_Stop saying that you insecure little girl," _Kira said as she gently patted the mental version of Kikyo on the head. "_I chose you because I saw the strength in your soul, even before you were born. And those who placed me inside you also knew of how great your potential capacities are. So now, at this time of need, show me that you are indeed strong, that we did not make a mistake in choosing you."_

"_How? I don't know anything about this. I can't understand what's happening to me, and I damn well know that I have no strength against that!" _Kikyo protested, pointing at finger at the bloody fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow. Grimmjow was cutting up Ichigo pretty badly and every time he was hit, Kikyo would gasp in pain.

"_You can do it Kikyo," _Kira insisted, gazing at her with gentle, red eyes. "_What the heck, you even got the guts to slap that Arrancar."_

"_Arrancar?"_

"_Hollows that gain shinigami powers, child," _Kira explained. "_It seemed that they were able to get that power somehow, though I do not know much of it. I could not get much information while I'm inside you, though."_

Kikyo's eyes flickered back at Grimmjow, and she had to bite her tongue just to keep herself from shouting as she saw the wild Arrancar land another vicious hit on a weakened Ichigo. She winced as she heard Ichigo gasp in pain and cough another fit of blood. Her stomach lurched as she saw Ichigo's blood, stained on every place where he crashed and collided with. Kikyo lips trembled and her hands began to shake, clencing into tight fists. But what was happening to her wasn't because of fear. No, it was because of hate. A pure, relentless feeling of hate for Grimmjow. She wanted to stop him. She wanted to _kill_ him.

She turned back her attention to the girl in her head. "_Please!" _she begged. "_Help me stop him! Help me defeat that Arrancar!" _

"_I can only give you power, Kikyo," _Kira replied, her scarlet eyes hard. "_That is all. It is up to you on how you will use it."_

"_Then give me power," _Kikyo replied, her teeth clenched and her indigo eyes ablaze with determination._ "Lend me your power, Kira. Lend me you power to protect the person I love."_

In the dark interior of her mind, Kikyo saw Kira's eyes narrowed uncertainly. A great wave fear swept upon her. It was not the fear of death nor was it the fear of defeat. It was the fear of being refused of a chance. A chance to save someone's life.

"_Please!" _she begged once more. But Kira's eyes remained hard.

"_I said I can give you power," _Kira whispered, in a voice no longer melodic. It was strained and afraid. "_But I cannot give you control. You can run wild there, Kikyo. There is a great possibility that you will. You can be so wild you might even kill Ichigo."_

"_What are you saying? That will never happen!" _Kikyo cried out in solid protest. She knew that she would never hurt Ichigo in anyway. But as she looked at the uncertain and afraid eyes of Kira, doubt began to seep into her. Would she be able to control herself? If the power was so great, was there really a possibility for her to be dominated by it and just run around, killing everyone, unable to distinguish friend from foe?

"_You have a choice, Kikyo," _Kira added, staring at her with the same hard eyes. "_If you would choose to accept my power, you would be faced with the risk of losing control and killing your loved ones. But if you would decline, Ichigo would get hurt further and probably die. But if you did decline, then the possibility of staining your hands with his blood would drop to zero. What do you choose? To fight with the risk of becoming a murderer, or to hide and watch a murderer take away the person you hold dear?_

--

Haruma Izumi ran through the streets, his emerald eyes frantic and desperately searching for Kikyo. Only a few minutes after Kikyo had ran away, he felt the presence of creatures he had once sensed before, sixteen years ago. He had never seen them – thank goodness – but he could not fail to identify the heavy reek of menace and undaunted bloodlust. And what was worse was that Kikyo was out there in the streets, all alone and defenseless. He had to find her before _they _did. He _had _to find her at all costs.

He continued running, his head turning sharply at every sound, hoping that he would find Kikyo. He glanced alarmingly at his watch. It had been fifteen minutes since Kikyo had left. Izumi fervently hoped that those monsters were too busy to notice her presence.

He turned a corner and found himself at a dead end, where no other house was available except a small, old-fashioned store. He swore silently to himself and was about to turn around when he noticed a man wearing a weird white and green-stripped hat and an olive green kimono, standing at the middle of the road, casually blocking his path.

"Excuse me," he called to the man, who stared at him with strange, sparkling eyes. "Have you seen a girl with long, black hair and purple eyes? She's around five feet four inches tall and was wearing a white shirt with purple roses on it. She was wearing khaki shorts and mint green rubber slippers too."

The man scratched his chin for a while before a beam appeared on his face. "Yes, I guess I've seen her."

Izumi's eyes brightened up and he walked closer to the stranger, anticipating the continuation of his reply. When he didn't continued, Izumi asked again. "Where is she?"

"She's at the roof of the commercial building beside Inoue Orihime's apartment. There are probably two to three shinigamis fighting around her," the man casually replied, looking out at the sky thoughtfully. "But I think more are coming. They are getting very attracted to her reiatsu you know. One shinigami was indulged in a battle in front of this store a while ago. What a shame you didn't catch him. He probably would have shown you the way."

Izumi stared at the stranger with a struck expression on his face. "W-What are you talking about?" He managed to stammer. The man raised an eyebrow at him and looked at him skeptically. "I think you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I suggest you stop looking for your daughter. It's highly unlikely that she would die. We have over six shinigamis protecting her you know. Why don't you come in and have some tea?" he offered, giving Izumi a friendly smile.

"_No way_!" Izumi suddenly bellowed, slightly startling the stranger. "_My daughter is in danger! I have no time for tea, do you understand? Now, take me to her! Take me NOW!!" _Izumi had never shouted so loudly and so fiercely his whole life. He glared at the strange man with a mad form of desperation, already planning to strangle him if he still refuses his demand. He could almost imagine his helpless daughter, shaking in fear as she was trapped in the center of a battlefield, blood constantly spurting on her and her clothes. He had to save her. He _would _save her at any costs.

But the stranger did not move. Instead, he countered Izumi's glare with a cold, striking stare of his own. He glared at Izumi mercilessly, and Izumi could see that the man standing before him was no ordinary man. He held the same inhuman aura the two women emitted sixteen years ago, but this time with a bigger scope of power.

"If I bring you there, what will you do?" He asked, his voice sharp and icy. "Will you fight off all the enemies with your bare hands and save your daughter? Will you scream at them, or glare at them until they die? Is that it? Is that your ingenious plan? Do you think it would work, just charging into that battle with no weapon or experience whatsoever?"

"I-" Izumi tried to reply but he was cut off by the man's glare.

"I can bring you there," he continued, his voice high and eerie. "But if I did, you would undoubtedly die. And if you die, that girl, Haruma Kikyo would probably go insane, lose control over her powers and massacre as all, your family included." He paused and a ghostly, terrifying smile – that sent chills down Izumi's spine – appeared on his face. "But I would bring you there if you still want to."

Izumi stared at the man with shocked eyes, his mind processing the meaning and the threat behind his words. For a moment he thought of pressing on, ignoring the man's warning and still go to where Kikyo was. But then he hesitated, and thought of how weak he was against all those invisible forces of evil that he didn't fail to notice. And he also knew how tender Kikyo's mind was. Seeing blood would scare her but seeing someone she knew die, die right in front of her, would be enough to drive her mad to the extreme. Izumi's lips pressed into a thin line.

"How about some tea?" the man offered once again, the scary look disappearing from his face, replaced by a friendly smile as he realized that Izumi had surrendered.

"One question," Izumi said, never keeping his gaze away from the stranger's eyes. "Who are you?"

"Wow, that's an easy one," the man answered, a grin on his face. "It's nice to finally meet you, Haruma Izumi. My name is Urahara Kisuke."

--

"_I choose to fight," _Kikyo finally replied after a long moment of indecision. Kira's lips pressed into a hard line and her eyes tightened in nagging uncertainty. But she nodded in affirmation to Kikyo's decision and gracefully waved her right hand.

Kikyo watched, awestruck, as the beautiful katana that she had seen once before in her dreams materialized out of the darkness. Its golden hilt glowed like the pure, powerful sun, while its glowing, silver blade shone like the delicate light of the full moon. Delicate but deadly. The patterns of fire that were encrusted on the shiny surface of the golden hilt seemed to dance like real tongues of fire, burning passionately. Power radiated from it. Mysterious and unpredictable… but undeniably strong. Stronger than those of the Arrancar.

"_Take it," _Kira said, as she held out the sword. "_Take it Kikyo, and stab it through your heart. This way, my powers would flow into your soul, and then you would be able to fight." _

She held the sword and pointed the blade towards Kikyo, its razor tip pointing directly above her heart. For a moment Kira hesitated, and she once again looked back at Kikyo with anxious crimson eyes. "_Are you really sure?" _

"_Yes, I am," _Kikyo firmly replied, although her fear and uncertainty were just as big as Kira's. When she had first seen the sword in her dreams, she knew, sub-consciously, that it stored a frightening amount of power, so monstrous that she had small chances of retaining control. However, in that moment of indecision, she vividly remembered one of her father's famous quotes, a quote that she had lived by everyday of her life:

_Those who believe attain more than those who doubt. Therefore, continue believing as you run through life and pursue the impossible. Because only through belief can the unachievable be achieved._

_I believe that I could do this, _Kikyo thought as she reached out and grabbed the blade of the sword. Her fingers bled as the thin, fatal blade made contact with her soft, fragile skin. She slightly winced in pain but continued to firmly hold on.

_I believe that I would be able to protect those who are dear to me. _She pulled the blade closer to her chest. Kikyo could feel her heart beating rapidly, as if it somehow sensed that something was threatening it. She felt fear as she looked at the razor, lethal point of the katana, but that was not enough to make her let go of the blade. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, somewhat wondering if that would be her last.

_I believe that I would win. _And without further hesitation, she plunged the sword deeply into her heart.

--

A/N: Pretty short, but enough I suppose…XD Hehehehe….

Read, review and Enjoy!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	8. Berserk Consequences

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH.

--

Chapter 8: Berserk Consequences

--

"You really are pathetic!" Grimmjow sneered as he roughly kicked Ichigo on the chest, making him gasp in pain as he collided against another wall. Wounds opened up in different parts of his body, while the blood that seeped from an open wound on his head stained his bright orange hair. Ichigo could barely move his limbs, and whenever he attempted to stand up, a maddening flash of pain would almost send him back down. His clothes were in pieces and he could feel his reiatsu drastically decreasing. Ichigo knew that if the battle went on longer, he would not have enough strength left to maintain his Bankai form. And if that happened, all was lost.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Get up, you loser, and fight me with all you can!" Grimmjow taunted. "Or is that all that you can do? My, my, and here I was thinking that you were the strongest among all of them!" The blue-haired Arrancar released a fit of hysterical laughter as he looked at Ichigo's crumpled form.

"Shut up," Ichigo spat out as he staggered to stand up again. Jolts of pain tormented his body but he paid no attention to them. "It's not over yet."

"Whatever," Grimmjow replied, and raised his palm towards Ichigo. " But I don't want to fuck around any longer." A noxious ball of black and crimson formed and grew on his palm, and Grimmjow leered at Ichigo who couldn't even manage to stand of properly; he was using his sword as improvised crutches. "Hurry up and die," Grimmjow muttered before finally releasing the Cero.

Ichigo gazed at it with wide horrified eyes, petrified not only by the pain he was experiencing but also by his unavoidable fate that equaled to death.

And at that exact moment, at that exact second when he thought he was going to die, the world turned upside down.

At first he saw a blade and then a brilliant flash of gold before the Cero vanished harmlessly. Both he and Grimmjow stared incredulously at the person that was standing in between the two of them, brandishing a sword none of them recognized, but all of them sensed its power.

"K-Kikyo…?" Ichigo muttered uncertainly, never taking his eyes off the girl in front of her, part of him still wondering if what he was seeing was possible.

Kikyo stood before him, her long, black hair dancing gently with the passing breeze, as her clothes casually fluttered with the wind. She did not glance back at Ichigo, but kept her merciless glare on Grimmjow, who had recovered from his shock and was staring at Kikyo with baleful, murderous eyes. A sickening grin appeared on his lips, as he saw the visible flames of reiatsu seep out of Kikyo's body and surround her like a deadly aura wherein she looked as if she was on fire.

"So you came back, you bitch," Grimmjow retorted, grinning as he licked his lips in anticipation. "Too bad though, it would have been safer for you to continue hiding." And with that, he lunged forward, his hand stretched out like a lethal claw that was prepared to tear her to pieces.

Kikyo saw it once again. The strange, slow-motioned phenomenon that occurred as Grimmjow jumped to attack. With Kira's help she was able to comprehend what was happening, and she finally understood that Grimmjow appeared to move that way because the power flowing within her was allowing her to see through attacks. And as Grimmjow seemed to float steadily in the air, moving towards her in a slow walking pace, Kikyo simply took two steps forward, and raised her sword in a delicate, skillful manner.

_This is for Ichigo, you bastard, _she thought as she swung the sword through the air without any hint of hesitation.

"Aaaarggh!" Grimmjow hollered in anguish and pain as his whole right arm was smoothly severed from his body. "You _bitch!!"_ He quickly backed away from Kikyo, clutching the large, bleeding hole where his arm had been. Grimmjow roared, his eyes filled with hate and pure killing intent radiating from his body. "_I'm going to kill you!"_

"Shut up, Arrancar. You are fortunate that I decided to cut off your arm instead of cutting you in half, which I would have easily done." Kikyo said, and Ichigo was startled by how steely and cold her voice was. It was totally different from the gentle, sophisticated voice Kikyo usually had. Ichigo wondered if it was really Kikyo he was staring at, or if it was somebody else, somebody who had resided inside Kikyo's soul the day she had been born into the human world.

"What did you say you little slut?!" Grimmjow snarled, and another flash of excruciating pain filled his body as his left arm was cut off. He howled in complete agony as he continued backing away from Kikyo and running towards the place where his left arm was. "_I'm really going to rip you to pieces!"_

Kikyo didn't reply. Instead, she pointed her sword towards Grimmjow's severed right arm and followed the instructions Kira had given her. She closed her eyes, and with deep concentration she channeled a sufficient amount of reiatsu towards her sword. _Imagine yourself building a dam at the mouth of the river. Now that the water had been controlled, imagine yourself opening a small channel in which a steady but strong flow of water would seep out. And imagine yourself placing a pipeline that would guide the water towards the place you would want it to go. And finally, imagine yourself as the water, and so, move along through the pipe and with force, reach the exit where you would burst out with vigor._

At that moment, her katana was completely engulfed by a strange, blue flame, a flame that felt both warm and cold at her touch. And as she released the flame, like water rushing out from a pipe, the fire shot out from her sword and with amazing efficiency landed straight towards Grimmjow's arm, disintegrating it completely, and not leaving even ashes to remain as proof that the arm ever existed.

Seeing what she had done, Grimmjow howled in complete wrath and hate. "_Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"_ he screamed as he charged towards her, his mouth opening to reveal a Cero forming inside. _"Die you miserable bitch!!"_

"KIkyo!" Ichigo shouted in despair as he sensed the magnitude of the incoming Cero. "Get out of the way! Hurry!"

But Kikyo didn't move and, instead continued glared at Grimmjow with determined and vengeful, indigo eyes. Eyes that were somewhat highlighted by an inhuman scarlet tint. _You hurt Ichigo, _she thought. _You hurt him and made him bleed. You hurt him and attempted to kill him. You bastard… stupid and disgusting Arrancar, I will make you pay. _

The power that was flowing through her body, it brought Kikyo a warm, incredible feeling that made her feel as if she could do anything. The strength rushing through her veins, the confidence in her heart, the feeling of freedom and invincible power. She loved that feeling, the feeling of being in total control, the feeling of being invincible and victorious.

But…

Something… something at the back of her mind continued to nag her…

Something told her that there was something wrong… but she just couldn't see what it was…

Kikyo stared confidently at the massive ball of dark reiatsu that was growing in front of Grimmjow's mouth. She could sense that it was strong and destructive, but her arrogance made her blind to the possible consequences of her unplanned actions.

Kikyo stood her ground and raised her sword, making it point threateningly at Grimmjow. And then with slight caution, she widened the channel from where her power flowed out of, dramatically increasing the size and strength of the blue flames. Now it was not only her sword that was being enveloped by the cobalt fire; her whole body was engulfed too.

A conceited smile appeared on her face as she casually looked at the Grimmjow's growing Cero. She knew that with power like hers, something as trivial as a simple Cero could not possibly injure or scratch her.

"_Watch out Kikyo," _Kira warned, getting worried as she reflected on Kikyo's vain emotions. "_You are falling into such a common pitfall."_

"_I'm not going to fall, Kira," _Kikyo replied, a confident smirk on her face as she proudly held her sword. "_He will."_

"_Don't be too confident," _Kira hissed, growing alarmed by Kikyo's growing conceit. The thing she had feared was starting to happen. _"Be on your guard. Don't use too much of your energy. You might accidentally break the dam and lose control."_

"_I told you to believe in me, and so, now you must watch as I end the life of this menace," _Kikyo retorted, the smirk off her face as annoyance grew inside her. Kira was becoming too jittery for no reason at all.

"_Disappear!!" _Grimmjow hollered as he released his Cero.

A massive wave of black and death poured out and rushed towards her, and despite how every fiber of her body screamed in terror and retreat, Kikyo held onto her sword tightly, her eyes becoming more and more scarlet as the blue flames flowed relentlessly out of her body, like an untamed fire.

Suddenly, a huge amount of sinister pressure fell upon her, and Kikyo unexpectedly gasped as the Cero's dark power startled her body. _Damn, _she thought as she struggled under the weight of the wicked reiatsu, her sword shaking uncertainly as it continued to fight such an underestimated force. Kikyo stared in horror as she saw the flame of her sword flickering.

_No! _She thought, panicking as she sensed her power decreasing. Some of the Cero's lethal force seeped through her defense and began to mercilessly cut through her body. Kikyo screamed in pain but didn't let go. Her clothes were torn and her legs were filled with numerous bleeding cuts that supplied blood for a small pool that was forming on the ground beneath her.

_I can't be defeated now, _she told herself as the destructive energy of the Cero began to push her back. _Not now… not at this moment… not when I was so close to victory… not now… oh God not now…_

The stubborn blue flames in her swords flickered uncertainly for a moment, before starting to burn steadily once more. Thick perspiration flowed down Kikyo's forehead as she struggled to release as much reiatsu as she could control, keeping wary of the danger of breaking the dam of her powers. The flames were alive but they were not enough. The strength of the darkness continued pushing her back, and Kikyo was suddenly filled with the fear that she was going to die.

_No, _she desperately thought, releasing more reiatsu. The cobalt flames grew and glowed with power. _I cannot die here. Not here. Not today. I have… I have a family to protect!_

More reiatsu flowed out of her body, and her sword trembled under the drastic increase in power. Perspiration steadily pooled out of her pores and mixed with the pool of blood that had formed due to her wounds. Kikyo felt her body weakening because of the lack of blood, and her vision seemed to blur. The sudden burst of power from her began to subside and the flames started to dim once again. Her hands were heavily shaking now, clutching the sword with as much desperation as a deserted sailor, as he clutches the plank of wood that would save his life.

"No!" she shouted, her eyes turning into a blazing shade of crimson. "_I will never… never… never be defeated by someone like you!!"_

"_NO! Kikyo! STOP!!" _Kira screamed from within her, but Kikyo was no more.

"_AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" _

And with that last scream, a blinding flash of light, together with a petrifying sensation of immense pain took away the last bits of her consciousness, entrapping her in an abyss of menacing insanity.

--

The teacup crashed on the floor, breaking into thousands of small, immeasurable pieces.

Izumi froze as he stared at the shattered teacup with horror, as a frightening chill fizzled through his body like an electric shock. Something bad had happened. He was sure of it.

"This is bad," he heard Urahara's low whisper. Izumi hesitantly turned to him, afraid of what he might see on the ex-captain's face. "W-What is it?" he inquired, looking anxiously at Urahara's frown.

"Stay here," he ordered him, his tone banishing any form of protest. "This is dangerous, I never thought such an immense amount of reiatsu was inside her… I've got to get there quickly," Urahara muttered to himself, unaware of his audience as he stared out the window with apprehensive eyes.

"Her? You mean Kikyo?" Izumi asked, his eyes wide in fear and desperation. "What happened? What happened to her? Tell me! _Tell me!" _

"It would not help you if you continue screaming like that," Urahara snapped at him, his gentle and friendly manner completely vanishing. "Even if I tell, there is nothing you can do! Right now, your daughter is going berserk over there. All of them, shinigamis and Arrancar, are in danger of complete annihilation. That's why I have to get there as soon as possible." Urahara made his way towards the door.

"Wait!" Izumi shouted, running after him and blocking Urahara's path. "Take me with you! Please!" He stood there, his emerald eyes hard with both fear and determination, while his hands evaded the curse of trembling by tightening into intangible fists.

"What can you do?" Urahara gazed at him with cold eyes, but he looked at Izumi with interest as he watched the determined flame burn brightly in his eyes. "You will only be a nuisance. And if you die, there will be no way to control Kikyo."

"I can do it," Izumi replied with such conviction that anyone who would have heard him would have been thoroughly convinced of his success. "I know Kikyo. She'll calm down if she sees me."

"May I also warn you about the Arrancar that will be in that area?" Urahara added, his cold façade disintegrating as he saw the strength in Izumi's face. "Are you ready to face the threat of death?"

"I am," Izumi declared without the slightest hint of hesitation any sane man would have had. A small smile appeared on Urahara's lips as he watched the determined, almost mad look on Izumi's face. He had noticed of course, that Haruma Izumi was far from sanity.

"Fine. I'll take you with me. But, I must warn you that the Kikyo that you would see tonight, might not be the Kikyo that you knew before," he told him, but the determination in Izumi's eyes didn't even flicker for a moment. "You are wrong," he replied, his voice firm and full of assurance. "Kikyo is Kikyo. That will never change."

--

Ichigo stared, with outmost dread and disbelief, as he watched the black flames of Cero retreat against the exploding power of the bright golden flames that engulfed Kikyo's complete being. Her clothes were torn, and numerous wounds, seen and unseen, covered her body like ugly tattoos.

_Kikyo, _he thought, as he kept his wide, mahogany eyes on Kikyo's form as she stood motionless inside the flaming burst of strange, golden reiatsu that covered her body like a shell. _What on earth… is going on? Kikyo… Kikyo's…gone._

A blood-curling scream broke through the night, and everyone of them, shinigami or Arrancar, felt a terrifying chill run down their spines.

Toushirou, who was still suspended in the air, looked down at Kikyo's ominous form with wide, frightened eyes. _Such menacing aura… even more bloodthirsty than the wildest Hollow… what in the world is she?_

Matsumoto, who had just recently defeated her opponent, also sensed the sinister atmosphere Kikyo's golden aura provided. Her hands trembled as her body felt the magnitude and the wrath of Kikyo's unknown reiatsu. It was totally different from the blue, strong but safe reiatsu she had sensed before, when the battle between Kikyo and Grimmjow had just begun.

Yumichika and Ikkaku jumped from roof to roof, moving towards the place where the sensible part of their brains refused to go. Even if they were the farthest from the place where Kikyo was, they felt her reiatsu as clearly as if she was just standing a few meters away from them. Despite his injuries from his recent battle, Ikkaku decided to go, and for a moment, he uncharacteristically wondered if he was really suicidal.

"Such a horrible reiatsu, isn't it, Ikkaku?" Yumichika commented his anxious azure eyes focused onwards. "It's so monstrously powerful, and how unfortunate it was for that power to be mixed with such killing intent. This one's even wilder than all the Arrancar combined together."

"Shut up your babbling, Yumichika," Ikkaku hissed. "You're making your last words too long."

"My, my, you really think we're going to die, aren't you?"

"It's obvious enough, isn't it? I'm even wondering why I'm moving towards that terrible power instead of moving away from it. I feel like shit at a time like this. It would have been great to sense such power when I would still be capable of using Bankai, but now… it's similar to a helpless moth moving towards a candle in the dark, isn't it?"

"Wow, you're really becoming poetic, Ikkaku. Is that one of the usual, hidden things provoked by impending death?" Yumichika teased, trying to loosen up the mood.

"Shut up, Yumichika," Ikkaku replied, a broad grin on his face.

--

"What the…hell was that?" Grimmjow muttered breathlessly, as his mind replayed the scenario he had witnessed a few seconds ago. "That bitch… what the hell is she?"

_Die._

He didn't even realize it. At first he heard a slight distortion in the air. Only the slightest form of distortion, equal to the sound of a blink. And that was all. He hadn't thought he was being cut until the sword had created a large, wide slash on his chest. Spurts of blood came of out his mouth, but despite the sudden, maddening pain, not one scream left his throat. Only one gasp escaped his lips. A gasp of pain…and complete shock.

And that was when he glanced at the creature standing before him. Physically, he saw it as a girl, thin, long-haired and pale, with multiple wounds that bled endlessly. But in his mind, his whole existence acknowledged the true form of the nefarious being that resided within the body of that thin, pale girl. A monster that could not be compared with any other heinous creature in all the three dimensions and whose thirst for blood and death was bottomless and unquenchable.

As he stared at the callous, brutal crimson eyes of the monster, Grimmjow knew for certain that he was going to die. And despite his usual personality of struggling until the end, Grimmjow felt hopeless at that moment, for he knew that any kind of struggle could not win against the power of the devil that stood in front of him, brandishing a sword stained with his blood.

_Grimmjow._

A low curse found its way out of his lips as Grimmjow recognized the voice of the person calling on to him. The person he despised the most, among all the Espada. He could see the bastard's vomit-green, impassive eyes glaring at him with pity and contempt and Grimmjow knew that he'd rather die than see Ulquiorra again. But then, he was not able to do anything as a Garganta opened behind him and strong, ice-cold hands pulled him back to Hueco Mundo.

A sudden silence descended upon the area.

Ichigo opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. No words could form in his mind to describe the evil ambiance surrounding Kikyo at that moment. It was clearly not her who was standing before him at that moment, but somebody else. _Something _else.

_Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo!! _Ichigo frantically screamed inside his mind, as he confirmed his wild guess a moment before. _That's not Kikyo…that's a monster right there…but…but…where is she? Where the hell is Kikyo?!_

"Kikyo!!" Ichigo hollered with all his might, startling all the other shinigami who had just arrived. "Wake up Kikyo!! Wake up, wake up, wake up!!"

Kikyo turned his head towards him, her flaming red eyes filled with nothing but the thirst for blood and hunger for death. A golden flame began to surround her sword, which had somewhat transformed. The small, golden leaves at the back of the hilt had grown into long, snake-like stems, wrapping itself in a secure shell around Kikyo's arm, making her look as if she had been merged with her sword. The flower petals on the hilt opened wider, as if it was blooming under the heat of the golden embers.

"Who are you?" Kikyo asked him, and at once another chill ran down Ichigo's spine as he heard her toneless, cold and merciless voice. _That isn't Kikyo, _his mind chanted once more. _That isn't the Kikyo that I loved._

Ever since the night Kikyo had been first assaulted with Hollows, Ichigo swore upon himself that he would do anything to protect Kikyo from danger and to keep her safe. But, when he heard Kikyo confess her love for him in her dreams, something lit within Ichigo. A strange, unknown flame that felt extraordinarily good in all ways. At first he couldn't understand what he was feeling, but as everyday passed by, as different, frightening facts about Kikyo were slowly revealed, and as he spent the whole weekend thinking endlessly about Kikyo, wondering if she was safe or not, Ichigo realized that what he felt was no less than love.

Yes, love.

For the first time in Ichigo's life, he felt something that was truly pure, something immense and yet, comforting. The emotion in is his heart grew, an emotion that he thought he would never feel again, ever since his mother died right in front of him.

That was why his heart couldn't take it. He couldn't accept that it was the real Kikyo standing right before him. Her bright, indigo eyes, her sweet, sophisticated smile, her soothing, gentle voice and her firm determination to protect all those important to her… everything… everything… everything was… gone.

"Kikyo, snap out of it! I'm Ichigo! Kurosaki Ichigo! Remember! Wake up, Kikyo! Wake up!" he cried out once again, his voice hoarse and pained. He desperately watched Kikyo's fearsome scarlet eyes, hoping that somehow, he could still see a remainder of Kikyo's original self, but with dawning horror, he realized that he had not reached her yet.

"My name is not Kikyo. And I do not know you, Kurosaki Ichigo," the creature within Kikyo replied, her deadly, monotone voice slicing through the air like a sharp rapier. And then her voice seemed to mutate into a rougher, inhuman voice that none of them have ever heard before, and would never want to hear again. "I am the Eien no Akuma, the eternal demon that brings about death in every world. And hearing my name, I do not think that I would allow you to continue existing."

As Ichigo blinked, Eien no Akuma disappeared from where it was before.

"Watch out, Ichigo!" he heard Renji shout in warning. But Ichigo no longer had enough strength left to even raise his sword. He knew that the demon was coming, and that its blade would pierce through his heart, stopping his time before he was able to do anything useful. Ichigo closed his eyes, and silently waited for his end to come, mentally apologizing to everyone, for not being able to win the very last battle of his life.

_I love you too, Ichigo._

Ichigo's eyes flew open and his body suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own, reacting to a sub-conscious whim that suddenly emerged out of nowhere. He jumped out of the way just as the demon's blade pierced the ground where he had been standing at a second earlier.

As he safely reached the ground, his Bankai form disappeared.

"Ichigo!" He heard Renji once again, and he felt five different reiatsus rushing towards him at that moment, hoping to get to him before the demon would be able to recover from its previous attack. But Ichigo knew of course, that they would not be able to beat the speed of such powerful and eternal creature. And so, he stood his ground, holding his huge zanpakutou tightly with his hand, willing to fight against death with his last breath.

The demon disappeared once again, and this time, reappeared above him, its sword raised and a mad, hungry look on its red, murderous eyes.

"DIE!!" it screamed, bringing the sword down, onto Ichigo's head.

But at that exact second, a powerful, impassive voice resounded all throughout Karakura town.

"_Scatter, Senbonzakura."_

--

A/N: With that last line, you'll know who'll be coming in the next chapter, right?? XD

Wahahahahaha…..hehehehe, finally, Ichigo realized his feelings for Kikyo, but, I wonder what happened to Kikyo and where the hell is Kira to help her out?

Find out in the next chapters!! But I won't update until I get a sufficient number of reviews. :P

Hehehehe….read, REVIEW, and ENJOY!!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	9. When the past intertwines with

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH

--

Chapter 9: When the Past intertwines with the Present

--

"_Where am I?" she asked no one._

_Kikyo floated in the middle of a blinding darkness, her body steadily moving downwards. Even if her eyes were opened, Kikyo could not see a single thing, even her hands when she raised them up to her face. She lay suspended in the darkness; her body clothed in a glowing white kimono adorned with lavender sakura flowers that were outlined by gold threads. She was barefooted but on her right wrist, a simple silver chain hung loosely. The usual purple ribbon she wore on her head was gone, replaced by a crown made out of sakura flowers. _

"_Where am I?" she asked again._

_Her eyes were limply opened, her vision continuously blurred by the concentration of the dark. Kikyo felt weak and unable to move, barely being able to turn her head around to look for even a small spark of light. She continued moving down, into the darker pits of that bizarre dimension where she was imprisoned, and even if Kikyo wanted to swim up, swim away from the darkness, she couldn't. _

"_Help me," she cried out weakly, her own silent voice barely reaching her own ears. "Anyone, please, help me!"_

--

Sakura petals.

Thousands, no, millions of sakura petals materialized into the night.

The Eien no Akuma saw the vast tempest of deadly, glowing pink petals approach it, and it did not bother to finish its job with Ichigo. Before even one petal reached him, the demon moved away, faster than any of the audience could perceive.

Ichigo stared at the massive amount of sakura petals in front of him, and he gulped, heavy perspiration flowing down his forehead. He knew that if the 6th squad captain had arrived a second later, his death would have been inevitable. Ichigo turned towards the direction where the petals came from, and his mahogany gaze fell upon stormy gray eyes, that were strangely not void of any emotion but was now filled with senseless wrath and confusion. Ichigo could not understand why Byakuya had such an intense expression of rage and bewilderment on his face. Even when Rukia was almost killed by Ichimaru Gin, Byakuya only expressed acceptable levels of anger. But now, the expression on his face was making him look as wild as the demon itself.

"Step back, Kurosaki Ichigo!" Byakuya ordered, startling Ichigo with his uncharacteristically rough and strained voice. Byakuya stared at the monster he had been pursuing, and every time he got to see the face of the host that contained the demon, rage drastically increased within him. He had never felt such intense anger in his whole life, anger that was almost blinding and senseless. But Byakuya could not contain himself when he first lay his eyes on that face, the face the demon was using. That face… that face that meant so much to his eternal existence… was being used by some long-forgotten demon… he just couldn't accept it… he couldn't allow it… he _wouldn't _allow it.

The surge of sakura petals rapidly increased, but the demon simply evaded them all, moving faster than the normal eye could follow. Ichigo could sense the maddening aura of murder that conspicuously surrounded Byakuya's body and also the killing intent that was as obvious as a flare. The shinigami substitute could not comprehend what Byakuya was thinking but he knew that it was seriously not normal for the 6th squad captain that he had once battled to act this way.

"How dare you use that face! You lowly demon, I will send you back to the pits of hell!" Byakuya hollered and dropped his sword, with the tip facing downward, and instead of colliding with the ground, it sunk and vanished into an unknown dimension.

"Bankai."

An exploding amount of reiatsu pushed back every shinigami or human that was present at that precise moment. It was a force so strong, that it caused greater damage than a strong gust of violent wind would do. But, every shinigami sensed something wrong within Kuchiki Byakuya's reiatsu. It was filled not only with power, but also a deep, deep sense of hatred.

From the outside, all the other shinigami saw the area surrounding the demon and Byakuya become engulfed with a deadly, impenetrable darkness that served as a door to another dimension. Deep within that dimension, Byakuya stood in front of the Eien no Akuma, his hand clenched into fists, and his eyes expressing mad rage. Thousands of glowing swords were suspended in the darkness, lined up neatly in organized piles. An air of impending death hung noticeable in the atmosphere, and neither of the two inhuman beings failed to notice it.

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," were the last words that came out of Byakuya's mouth before he waved his hand at his side and the first row of glowing swords attacked the demon with blinding speed, like hundreds of small, deadly missiles.

--

Ichigo knew that there was something greatly wrong about the scenario. _Why was Byakuya like that? And what did he mean by 'that face'?"_

"I knew it," Renji, who was beside him at that time, muttered darkly. Ichigo turned to look at him with confused eyes. "What do you mean?"

"That demon bastard used the face of Kuchiki-taichou's (captain) deceased wife, Hisana. No wonder he would become that mad," Renji replied, his eyes tensely gazing at the dome-shaped darkness. "What were the higher-ups thinking? Did they think that Kuchiki-taichou would coolly battle with someone wearing his beloved wife's face? Ha! How stupid of them! More than centuries of experience weren't enough to teach them that even the most impassive can fall in the trap of raging love."

"Shut your mouth, Abarai Renji," a cold voice interrupted them, and both Ichigo and Renji turned around so see Toushirou coldly staring at them. "You are in no position to judge what the higher-ups have decided. It is our duty to make sure that nothing else unnecessary would happen tonight. If the Arrancar sees that we are in turmoil at the moment, they will grab that chance to attack. And I don't think either of us is capable of round two at the moment."

Ichigo surveyed Toushirou's condition, and found that he was right. The boy captain was stained with fresh blood from his earlier battle, and even he, who lacked the talent of properly sensing a reiatsu could tell that Toushirou's spirit energy was dangerously decreasing by the minute.

"Taichou, I've already contact Soul Society for 4th squad attendants to come," Matsumoto said, suddenly appearing beside them. "I instructed Ikkaku to stay in Urahara-san's house first and wait for the medical assistance. Inoue is currently healing Kuchiki Rukia and would move on to Ikkaku if the medical back-up is late."

"I got it," Toushirou replied, his anxious sea-green eyes staring at the dome-shaped cage of darkness once again. "Have you requested to a parameter to be set around this area? Make sure that the humans, infrastructures or even stray animals will not be harmed. I have a feeling that this battle would be more than violent."

"Yes, sir. I've already done that." The once bouncy and energetic voluptuous shinigami gazed solemnly at the proof of Byakuya's bankai. "Kuchiki-taichou was really affected wasn't he?"

"There's no doubt about it," Toushirou replied, looking as troubled as his lieutenant. "For him to see the face of the person he loved more than anyone else in Soul Society be used by a demon, it completely understandable for him to snap like that."

"Oi, who is his wife anyway? And what do you mean that it was her face that the demon used? That's still Kikyo's face you know! Only with burning red eyes. How the hell would that face be the face of Byakuya's dead wife?" Ichigo asked, growing bewildered by the confusing situation.

"Hisana," Toushirou answered, before succumbing into silence once more. Ichigo sensed that he would not get anything else from the snow-haired captain and so he turned to Matsumoto for more information.

She sighed and finally gave Ichigo what he wanted to know. "Hisana was a servant in the Kuchiki household that Kuchiki-taichou fell in love with. His family was against it, but he insisted because it was obvious to everyone that he loved her, regardless of her social status. But Hisana's health was terrible, and it even worsened due to the depression that fell upon her when she had failed countless times to find the sister that she abandoned in Rukongai. Five years after their marriage, she died."

"It was such a blow for the captain," Renji continued, his eyes solemn. "He completely changed. I don't really know what he was like before but the older captains say that he was quite lively and very impertinent, unlike his impassiveness now. Some say that Hisana took his smile with her to the grave. But even if that was fifty years ago, he still stayed impassive and never took another wife, despite the protests of his household, cuz' they need an heir."

"But what does that have to do with Kikyo?" Ichigo pressed on, in need for clarification. Toushirou sighed in vague exasperation. "Kurosaki, haven't you noticed how identical Haruma Kikyo is to Kuchiki Rukia?"

Ichigo had to gasp in surprise as the pieces of information finally organized themselves in his mind. "So…you mean…Kikyo is…"

"We have no proof to support our hypothesis, and we ourselves think that is impossible but the only thing we could presume is that Haruma Kikyo is, if not a resurrection, a reincarnation of Kuchiki Hisana," Toushirou interrupted. "But I personally hope that we are wrong, because if in case our hypothesis is correct, it would greatly affect the mental stability of one of the strongest captains in the Gotei 13."

--

_Kikyo continued sinking downwards, and despite how numb she felt, she could feel the painful sting of the icy abyss that awaited her in the bottomless pit of darkness. She could feel her hands struggling, attempting to push up and swim towards the surface. But it was as if something heavy was pulling her down, something that pulled her towards impending doom. _

_She wanted to be free of it, to go back to the surface, to find warmth in beautiful golden flames. Kikyo cried out again, but then, her own voice became inaudible to her. She couldn't see anything, she could not hear anything and she could not feel anything, aside from the icy pain coming from the dark depths. _

_She thought she was dead._

"_Is this what death is like?" she asked herself, though she could not hear herself say it. "But… why does it feel like I'm in hell? What did I do to deserve this?"_

"_Fight."_

_Kikyo's dim eyes widened in shock, as she began to hear another voice, somewhere in the darkness. Her indigo orbs frantically scanned her surroundings, hoping to see something that would guide her out of that darkness. _

"_Fight," the voice repeated and Kikyo felt that she knew such a voice. Soothing, melodic… a voice of an angel. _

"_Who are you?" she whispered, hoping that the voice would hear her small voice._

"_Kikyo, don't you recognize me?" _

_Kikyo's purple eyes widened in shock and amazement as a figure stepped out of the darkness. She stared at the breathtakingly beautiful face of the girl, her porcelain skin and her glowing, warm red eyes that was curtained by waist-length ebony hair. As she stared, she started to remember._

"_Ichigo…Arrancar…Inoue…dad…Kira…me…" she muttered as the memories reappeared in her empty mind, filling up the hollow holes. "I remembered everything…but…when that Arrancar released that black energy, I forgot what happened next."_

"_You broke the dam, Kikyo," Kira replied, her voice sober and anxious. "Because of that, you freed 'it'."_

"_It? What are you talking about?"Kikyo asked, growing confused._

"_The demon, Eien no Akuma, that had been imprisoned inside my body, damned into eternal solitude and pain. He's the reason why I was afraid to give you power Kikyo, because I know that there is a chance that you might ask for more. And if you did, your soul would immediately search and access the power of Eien no Akuma , both awakening him and giving him temporary freedom. And when that happens, he would take over your body and slaughter everyone near you."_

"_What?!" Kikyo gasped, her eyes terrified as her mind tried to grasp that sudden, horrible truth. "B-Because of me…right now… everyone is….everyone is…" she stuttered, her eyes brimming up with tears._

"_Pull yourself together!" Kira snapped, drawing nearer to Kikyo and violently shaking her shoulders. "You haven't killed anyone yet. But right now that demon is fighting with someone important to you. To your past. That's why you have to swim back up," as she said this, she looked up at the almost nonexistent surface. "You must continue swimming and swimming until you see a light. Never give up, even if it hurts."_

"_B-But," Kikyo wanted to protest, choking out the tears._

"_There is no time left Kikyo! If the demon kills him, all is lost!" Kira almost shouted, startling Kikyo with her desperate tone._

_Kikyo wanted to ask many things about the person she was about to save, but as she stared at Kira's wild, beseeching carmine eyes, she knew that there was no time for words. As she watched Kira slowly dissolve into the darkness, KIkyo looked up and silently prayed that she would arrive on time._

"_Please," she whispered to no one. "Let me save him. Whoever he may be."_

_And with that, she pushed her body forward, slowly but steadily swimming up to the surface._

--

"Stop using that face, I command you!" Byakuya shouted, waving his hand in a horizontal slicing pattern, making another row of deadly swords attack the wounded demon. Byakuya stared with full wrath as he looked at the wounded body of the host carrying the demon and an intense pain sliced through his heart as he stared at Hisana's pale, bloody face. He would have hesitated attacking the demon if it weren't for the blood red eyes that constantly reminded him that it was the demon he was fighting against and not Hisana.

"I cannot stop using this face, for this is the face of my host, the body that contains me," the demon replied in a raspy, rough snake-like voice that echoed eerily throughout the alter dimension Byakuya created.

"Get out of that body! Show your true self, you despicable demon!" Byakuya hollered, moving his right hand in a slicing cross like pattern, and as soon as he did it, all the rows of swords came upon the monster, like rain that glows with the shadow of death. The demon's anguished cries resounded all throughout the dimension, for it could not fully evade the blades.

"I've had enough of you, shinigami," the demon suddenly roared, releasing a huge amount of reiatsu in the process. Byakuya slid away a bit, putting his arm before his face as a means of protection. The demon stood up straight, raising its head up high and opening its mouth as wide as possible. It stretched open its arms, forming a crucifix with its body. Byakuya could sense the massive amount of power at work.

"I won't allow you to do that," Byakuya sharply stated, raising his right hand, and pointing his index finger towards the demon. "_Gokei." _(translated into "pivotal scene")

The four rows of sword combined and formed one strict sphere around Eien no Akuma, each blade covering every blind spot and focused on every vital organ. "Die," Byakuya muttered before sharply flicking his index finger, initiating the start of the attack. Every blade lunged forward, like lethal bullets fired from a gun. The effect was blinding, for as the speed of the attacking swords increased, the demon was surrounded by a pink, bright glow, caused by light straining to reflect upon the countless blades.

A scream came from the monster.

But it was not a scream Byakuya expected. It was not a scream of pain or death. It was a scream of complete wrath and mockery. The captain's gray pupils constricted in shock as he watched as his swords dissolved under the power of the fatal golden flames of reiatsu that surrounded the demon's body like a protective shell. Not one sword was able to breach through the defense, and as the demon glanced back at the stunned captain, Byakuya could swear that he saw the monster smirk in amusement. That aggravated him more. His feelings, all deeply hidden in his heart were suddenly unleashed by an unknown wrath, and finally, the hotheaded, short-tempered Kuchiki Byakuya that existed before appeared once again.

"Bastard!" Byakuya shouted angrily, flinging his hand forward and activating another round of Gokei. "Die! Die! Die! Die, and put that face away!! PUT IT AWAY!!" One after the other, an endless river of blades poured upon the sneering demon.

Eien no Akuma knew that it was about time for it to activate the attack that it had been preparing for, for quite some time during their fight. It was the only reason it was allowing itself to be attacked and get wounded. But it wanted the worst for the insolent captain, and it knew that it wouldn't be a waste to try out one of its most destructive spells.

As the swords continued to dissolve under the strength of the fiery gold shield that surrounded the demon, it flexed its hands hypnotically and closed its eyes in concentration. Then it began to mutter words; words that was far too ancient, too evil for Byakuya to perceive. But even the 6th squad captain, though he was at the state of emotional instability, could sense the dangerous increase of power that was highly concentrated in the monster's open mouth.

By instinct, Byakuya withdrew all his swords and arranged them in front of him, making them morph into an impenetrable shield composed of millions of sakura blades. However, he had the nagging feeling that the shield might not be enough to stop the imminent force that was about to come upon him.

"Shinigami," the demon suddenly said in its eerie, rasping voice. "You who are given the power to send souls to their home and kill Hollows, you who are called 'Masters of death'… Would you like to see…how death is like?"

And at that, a huge fiery ball of noxious, golden reiatsu outlined by a black aura, like a makeshift Cero, appeared on top of the demon's head. Byakuya protectively placed his arms in front of him, wincing slightly at the pain caused by the pressure of such strong force. The ball grew and grew, and then the 6th squad captain began to notice soul particles start departing from his shield and get sucked into the massive ball that was rapidly growing. Byakuya cursed under his breath, dismantling his shield before the demon got anymore of his reiatsu.

A loud and boisterous laugh broke through the deadly silence, and Byakuya glared with blinding rage at the laughing demon that stared at him with scorn and mockery. "Die, you stupid shinigami." And at that, Eien no Akuma released one of his most deadliest attacks, a great ball of flaming reiatsu, filled with nothing but pure murder. Kuchiki Byakuya raised his arms in defense once again, using a bit more of his reiatsu to create an armor around his body in a vain attempt to protect himself.

_Stop._

Eien no Akuma froze and its blood red eyes seemed to falter.

_Stop it, demon. Stop it and go back to where you came from._

The red light slowly began to draw back, revealing dazed purple orbs once more. The eternal demon had no power to contradict the soul that truly owned the body where it was imprisoned. Kikyo no longer wanted its power and so it was once again dragged back into the dark abyss where it had been imprisoned for countless millenniums. And as it retreated, so did its dark, destructive power weaken and vanish, but not before knocking Byakuya off the ground, pushing him into the brink of unconsciousness.

The head of one of the four noble households in Soul Society lay motionless on the dirty ground. Blood flowed from different wounds that appeared in his body caused by the dreadful ball of reiatsu that hit him. His eyes were dull and unfocused, like dim gray clouds in a gloomy day. His kenseikan broke into large shards and lay like broken eggshells on his black hair, while his scarf was torn apart, stained by blood that splattered from his wounds. His haori was no longer recognizable, its edges burnt into a crisp. Byakuya vaguely wondered how pathetic he looked, and silently hoped that no one would find him in such a state. But as his vision began to dim, a figure approached him, shattering the hope of not being found.

He gazed up at the girl who stood before him, her flowing black hair gently leaning against her back as the remains of her tattered clothes barely managed to conceal her private parts. Her skin looked ghastly pale, lacking enough blood to keep the color. Her wounds had stopped bleeding, whether it was because they were starting to heal, or because there was not enough blood left, he didn't know.

Byakuya knew that the demon was no more, but as he gazed at the face of the stranger, shock struck him with such force, he suddenly started convulsing and coughing out blood. The girl knelt down beside him, took hold of his head and placed it on her lap, and Byakuya could hear her voice telling him to calm down and rest. But the shock wouldn't fade away.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing at that moment. Byakuya considered that he was highly disillusioned, and that the girl that was holding him was just a part of his desperate imagination. But as he continued hearing the familiar, soothing voice of the girl, he finally accepted that what was happening was reality.

As he accepted that fact, the shock immediately disappeared, and Byakuya could feel himself slowly sink into deep slumber. But before he completely closed his eyes, he gazed once again at the face of the girl that looked at him with so much concern.

A solitary word escaped his pale lips.

"Hisana."

Kikyo stared at the sleeping man in front of her, gazing intensely at his unconscious face. When she had first regained her consciousness after being controlled by the demon, she was filled the strange impulse to save the life of the person that lay bloody on the ground, just a few feet away from her.

The darkness that surrounded them was slowly disappearing as Byakuya's bankai began to dissolve. Kikyo warily approached him, fearing that he was already dead, but as she saw him up close, a huge wave of shock stunned her whole body, making her incapable of movement for a moment.

_It's the same man, _she thought as she stared, wide-eyed, at the semi-conscious man in front of her. _The same man in my dreams._ She remembered her dream a few days ago, when she was playing in a pleasant meadow that had a single tree in the middle of it. Under that tree was a man. The same man that was lying in front of her at that moment.

She would have continued staring at him if he hadn't suddenly started convulsing and coughing out blood. Kikyo immediately approached him, and by impulse, sat beside him and placed his head on her lap. She whispered soothing words to him, hoping that it would calm him down. Kikyo could sense the presence of other shinigami not so far from them, and so she knew that help would be coming quickly.

Kikyo studied him with concerned and surprised eyes, recognizing the stormy gray irises, the pale complexion, and the breath taking, inhumanly beautiful face that she thought had belonged to an angel. She had never imagined the man in her dreams to be actually true, and as she briefly glanced at his clothes, she was even more shocked to find out that he was a shinigami.

She watched the man as he too, stared at her with shock, as if he was also recognizing her for who she was. Kikyo unconsciously continued stroking his silky black hair, gazing intently into his dazed, but still beautiful gray eyes. "Help will come soon," she whispered too him. "That's why rest for now."

The man seemed to understand her, for she suddenly felt his body loosen and relax. Kikyo watched him as his eyes began to dim, and slowly he descended into a deep slumber.

But not before muttering one clear word.

"Hisana," Kikyo whispered to herself, still absently stroking Byakuya's hair. _Who is she? And why does the name seem so familiar? It's so familiar as if… as if… as if it was my own name._

Kikyo continued staring at Byakuya's face with confused indigo eyes until the pain from her wounds and the massive amount of blood loss finally pulled her into the relaxing pit of sleep too. She lied down beside Byakuya's body, curling up like a ball and gently resting her head on his chest, absorbing the little warmth she felt from his body.

A single name appeared in her mind before she was fully lost in her dreams.

_Kuchiki Byakuya._

--

A/N: Awwww…how cute they might look together, lying down like that even if they're all bloody and stuff..XD

Finally, a moment with Byakuya!! Woohoo!

Please, mind your manners and review!!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	10. Forced Initiative

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH

--

Chapter 10: Forced Initiative

--

_It was a clear blue sky. _

_A girl looked up at the parallel ocean blue universe that hung on top of the eternal world, like an endless ceiling that stretched towards every possible corner. Soft curls of clouds lazily grazed along the cerulean surface, blocking out the warm, bright sun every now and then. A cool and comfortable breeze passed through the world, providing an endless source of refreshment. However, despite the beauty of the day, heavy perspiration dripped down the girl's forehead, and her heart continued to beat in a nervous rhythm as she and her employer walked through the huge gate of Sereitei._

_They entered without further ceremony, and the girl couldn't help but gasp as her eyes fell upon the city that had always been hidden behind the massive, impenetrable stonewalls. It was a beautiful place, the most wonderful thing the girl had ever seen in her whole life. Being born from a poor family, and dying as a poor person, the girl had never seen fine houses made out of the finest marble and wood. _

_As they walked through the quite deserted streets, the girl took the opportunity to look around, admiring the tall, elegant houses with perfect, traditional roofs, and the mesmerizing, full-grown sakura trees that decorated almost every garden. The roads itself was made of smooth, cobblestone, intricately fitted together to allow no holes that could provide inconvenience to the residents. _

_Every now and then, she would see people clad in black kimonos and hakamas, with a white obi sash strapped around their waist. Nobody paid attention to her, for she was clearly a servant, which was elaborated by her attire of a plain white kimono and black hakama, with the insignia of the noble family she would be working for stamped across the back of her white kimono like an ID. _

"_You will be working as an apprentice to Fujima Kimaki-san, the person in charge of attending to the needs of the young master, the next heir to the clan. All your actions will be monitored, and any act of disrespect towards any member of the noble houses shall be punishable. You are not allowed to go back to Rukongai, nor are you allowed to interact with any of the other servants in the other noble houses. You will be given one day-off in a month and your food rations will be greatly affected by the degree of your service. Once we get to your quarters, you will be given a manual that will teach you all the rules. However, there is one rule that you must never, ever forget," the middle-aged woman in front of the girl stated. _

_She had a sharp, hawk-like face that was unpleasant, with a mouth twisted into a permanent scowl and coal-black eyes that glared at anything and anyone. Like the girl, she was wearing the same servant's attire, with the only variation being the pink sash that was wrapped around her left shoulder, where a badge bearing the insignia of the noble house she served as strapped. It was an obvious sign that she was a rank higher than the ordinary servants. _

_The girl looked at the woman with attentive eyes, showing her that she was listening. The hawkish woman sniffed as she studied the foolproof look the to-be apprentice gave her and continued with her instructions. _

"_You must never, ever, interact with any of the members of the noble family. Any degree of friendship, or even just a hint of it, and you will be exiled back into Rukongai and never again will you be allowed to set foot in Sereitei," the woman finished with a grave an solemn tone, that carried a threatening aura. _

_The girl kept her composure, and though she was frail-looking and smaller than most females, she held her head in dignity and countered the woman's glare with a sincere and masterful glare of her own, providing an unheard oath that she would abide by such rule. "I will do as you say, Makiyo-san."_

_Seeing the girl's glare, Makiyo sniffed indignantly and stalked off, purposely walking in a faster pace that forced the girl to jog just to catch up with her. Despite the sudden rush, the girl continued to enjoy the chance of studying her surroundings and once again admiring the vast and breathtaking vista of Sereitei._

_As they continued to walk through the maze like streets, the girl noticed that the houses were gradually becoming larger and grander, and every one in a while, the girl would get a sneak peek of big, enchanting gardens, craftily landscaped by well-known artists. They passed a few nobles in the way, and the girl, initially trained for such contact, performed the traditional bow that always flattered rich people. Makiyo seemed content with the girl's actions._

_Finally they stopped in front of a manor that was, by the girl's standards, the most magnificent and affluently made residence in all of Soul Society. Her purple eyes brightened in awe as she spotted a thick column of full-grown sakura trees that were in their highest point of bloom, sticking out of the defensive walls of the manor. The gardens were obviously filled with them and the girl felt as if she was in another world, a world filled with wonderful things. _

"_From this day onward," Makiyo said as both of them stood and stared at the manor with respectful eyes. "You are now officially employed to serve and attend to the needs of one of the four noble houses in Soul Society."_

_The hawk-faced woman turned to the girl, staring at her with stern eyes. "Nientono Hisana, you are now formally contracted to the Kuchiki House."_

--

She opened her eyes… and immediately closed them again.

A soft groan escaped her lips as her face distorted in slight pain, her eyes internally burning under the glare of the unexpected light. Kikyo tried once again, and slowly opened her eyes, squinting as her pupils adjusted to the light of the bright fluorescent lamp that was attached to the ceiling. She looked about her, a dazed expression on her purple eyes. As her mind took note of the familiar desk, the lavender curtains and the intricate embroidery of flowers and mint green leaves, she realized where she was.

She was in her room, and Kikyo found that fact strangely unsettling. Her brows furrowed as she wondered what felt wrong in her body.

"_Finally, you're awake._"

Kikyo almost jumped out of her bed in shock, as a familiar voice echoed in her mind. Finally the pieces began to come together. She began to remember everything that happened. Her father's confession...the Arrancar…the shinigami…Ichigo…that demon monster inside her…and that man.

Her body became momentary still as her mind showed her the image of the wounded, semi-unconscious man that the demon inside her had almost killed. She remembered his face clearly, as if she was just staring at his picture. The stormy gray eyes that held an azure tone in them, the long, silky raven hair that cloaked his head like a crown of black gold. His mesmerizing face, the clear almost transparent hue of his skin, his pale but luscious lips… she surprisingly remembered every detail of his body. She also remembered how weak he had looked, and yet his eyes still tried to manifest his dignity. The black shinigami's outfit that clothed him was in tatters, and yet they still, in a weird way, supported his beauty.

She remembered falling asleep beside him, but other than that, she could remember no more.

"_What happened after I fell asleep, Kira?" _Kikyo mentally asked, talking to the sentient entity that resided in her soul.

"_You were found by Kurosaki Ichigo and the other shinigami," _Kira replied, her voice light and relaxed, for the moment of anxiety had long past. "_After which, you were taken to Inoue Orihime for her to heal you, but I had already started on treating your wounds with my power. When they saw that you were already almost fully regenerated, Inoue moved on to that man you saved, Kuchiki Byakuya."_

_Kuchiki Byakuya, _Kikyo thought, as the image of Byakuya once again flashed across her mind.

"_Where are all of them right now?" Kikyo asked._

"_They're here. Downstairs, talking with your parents and your sister_," Kira replied.

"_Talking about what?" _Kikyo panicked, wondering what her the shinigamis might be telling her family. The chances of it involving her were high.

"_I have no idea," _Kira replied, her voice far from concerned. Obviously, she didn't seem anxious about what Kikyo's family was talking about. It was, in fact, none of her business.

Kikyo slowly crept towards her door, sticking her ear against the surface first, listening for anyone who might be waiting or guarding outside her room. As soon as she was satisfied that there was no one outside, she carefully turned the knob and discreetly wriggled went out. Moving as stealthily as she could manage, she approached the top of the stairs, hiding by the shadow a corner. She looked down and found, with relief, that there was no one standing at the foot of the stairs.

She took one step at a time, with sweat heavily trailing down her skin. Slippers were scattered all over the last three steps, and so Kikyo resigned herself to the last available platform, knowing fully what might happen if she would dare act stealthy in the presence of slippery slippers.

" – is the only solution that is most appropriate for this situation," a voice finally reached Kikyo's ears. It was a voice she didn't not recognize, so she supposed that it was one of the shinigamis who was talking.

"That can't be right!" another voice protested, and Kikyo realized it as Minami's voice. "You can't make that decision without asking her about it first! Even if we are her family, it's her life you're intervening with, not ours!"

"But, you might already be well informed that we have no time to wait for her decision. After that battle last night, Aizen-taichou will be pursuing Haruma Kikyo with as much vigor as a hungry wolf pursuing a helpless rabbit. We cannot risk having her in the human realm any longer. It would be dangerous not only to her, but also to the people around her," the same shinigami argued.

"To hell with that Aizen! I don't damn care what you think, but I believe that Kikyo should be given the right to decide! If she chooses to stay here, I bet you every last bit of my soul that I'm going to protect my sister from those damned monsters. If ever she decides to come with you, I give you my word, I won't stop her or any of you," Minami countered, her voice tight and heated.

_Come with you? _Kikyo thought, bewildered. She instinctively tried to move down, hoping to hear more of the conversation, but apparently that was a mistake. Her foot accidentally connected with one slippery slipper, and before she could regain her balance, her foot slipped and she tumbled out of the stairway, her pelvis hitting the floor with a painful _thump!_

As she grimaced in pain, five pairs of eyes fell upon her.

"Kikyo?" Izumi gasped, his voice troubled. His tired, emerald eyes gazed at his adoptive daughter with concern. "What are you doing here? You should be resting upstairs. Your wounds might reopen."

"I'm alright," Kikyo briskly replied, standing up and hastily regaining her composure. She first looked at the anxious faces of her family before directing her gaze at the two other people that were standing in front of them. Their black, burial clothes were gone, but they were unmistakably the two shinigami she had seen during the battle with the Arrancar. The white-haired boy with sea green eyes wore the same, impassive scowl, wearing a mint grin sweater and plain loafers, while his companion, the strawberry blonde female with voluptuous breasts stood beside him, wore a quite revealing deep red long sleeved v-neck that dangerously threatened to expose her bosom. Her long, russet skirt hung tightly on her hips, purposely revealing her curves.

"What do you mean by 'if ever she decides to come with you'?" Kikyo asked, her voice layered by apprehensive curiosity. She stared at Minami with stern indigo eyes, silently demanding that she be told nothing but the exact truth. Minami looked away, a scowl almost identical Toushirou was plastered on her face. Kanoko looked down on the floor, a distressed and almost desperate expression on her face while Izumi stared back at Kikyo with sad, restless eyes.

"These people here…these s-shinigami," Izumi cleared his throat as he said the word. It was obvious that he was having a hard time accepting the bizarre turn of events as much as Kikyo did. "They said that it would be wiser and safer if you come with them to that place… S-Soul Society, where they said that they could protect you from those A-Arrancar."

Kikyo could see heavy perspiration coming out of her father's pores as his mind struggled to grasp the meaning of the alien words that he was stuttering out. Kanoko finally looked up from the floor and gave Kikyo a frantic pleading look. "Don't go with them, please," she whispered, almost choking out the words as perplexed tears began to stream out of her eyes. "I'll protect you with my life, I promise!" Her words suddenly intensified as her voice grew from beseeching to demanding. "Just stay with us! Please! I love you, Kikyo! You're my daughter no matter what they say! Just please! Please stay with –"

"Kanoko!" Izumi suddenly shouted, silencing Kanoko immediately. He stared at his near-hysterical wife with firm, determined eyes; giving her the same look he gave Urahara Kisuke during their first encounter. He looked back at Kikyo, and a painful jolt stung his heart as he remembered what happened the other night. He would never be able to forget the image of his daughter's bloody, wounded and unconscious body on the ground, when he had finally arrived at the scene of battle. "This is her life. Let her decide."

Then he turned to the Toushirou and Matsumoto who were silently standing a few feet away from them. "Please explain to her the situation. I believe that it would help her decide," Izumi requested.

Kikyo looked uncertainly at her family before directing her attention to Toushirou. The white-haired captain cleared his throat and repeated the explanation he had given Kikyo's family a few minutes before.

"The creatures that attacked us yesterday are called Arrancar," he started. "These are hollows that received shinigami powers, powers like ours. Now, hollows are –"

"I know what Hollows are," Kikyo interrupted, getting rather impatient. "I know what Arrancars are, what shinigami are, and what Hollows are. I don't exactly know who Aizen is but I know that he is behind all the creations of Arrancar. I know that there is a place called Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. I know all that. What I want to know is the solution you were talking about."

The two shinigamis looked surprised, while the rest of the Haruma family stared at Kikyo with stunned expressions. "How do you know all this?" Izumi inquired, staring at his daughter with a confused expression.

"A friend told me," Kikyo replied, her sharp voice indicating that she did not want questions to be asked. She stared at Toushirou with demanding eyes. "Continue."

"The solution we were discussing a while ago," Toushirou continued. "Was about you being transferred to Soul Society for safety and practical purposes. You might not know this but Aizen is a very greedy and curious person, always wanting to get hold of powerful and interesting things and people. And so, the sudden explosion of power that you manifested had undoubtedly sparked his curiosity. He will never stop pursuing you, and that makes the situation very dangerous for the human world."

He stopped for a moment, his sea green eyes connecting with Kikyo's purple stare. He could tell that Kikyo already understood what he was proposing. Nevertheless, he decided to continue, so that there will be no need for clarifications later. "It is easy for Arrancar to enter the human world. There are no rules or spells that can restrict their presence. In Soul Society, however, despite the fact that they could still enter our world, it would be a very difficult and painstaking process, and it can be detected, soon enough for us to quickly react. Also, in Soul Society, legions of shinigami will be able to protect you. In the human realm on the other hand," Toushirou paused, his eyes glancing at Kikyo's family. "Not only will there be a scarce number of shinigami present but there is a high mortality rate for the human beings or other innocent beings who might get involved. As you have seen, the Arrancar are very merciless and bloodthirsty."

Kikyo understood him perfectly. The scene where Grimmjow's Cero blasted off a house where a family most likely lived continued to replay in her mind. She didn't want that to happen again. Even if Kira had told her that the shinigamis had placed a safety perimeter around, making every that was destroyed completely reparable, she still didn't like seeing other innocent people being killed. And she especially did not want them to be killed because of her.

She involuntarily glanced back at her family. Even if she already knew that they were not her real, biological family, she could never allow them to be endangered because of her. Just the thought of their lifeless, bloody bodies sent violent shivers down her spine.

All of a sudden, her mother's desperate cries began to echo loudly in her mind. _Please stay! I'll protect you with my life! Just stay! Please! I love you, Kikyo! Don't leave us!_

Kikyo bit back the impending tears that was moistening her eyes, and turned back to Toushirou who had been watching her facial expression for quite some time. He knew that it was a very difficult situation for her, and seeing how Kikyo's mother had reacted, he knew that it would be very difficult for her family too. But right now, the practical thing should be done. He didn't mention it, but Toushirou knew that if Kikyo refused, Soul Society would send reinforcements to forcefully bring her to Soul Society, and keep her there for who knows how long.

Both of them stared at each other, sea green eyes sinking into dark, indigo depths. A heavy atmosphere of silence descended upon them, and all members of the Haruma family anxiously waited for Kikyo's decision. Kanoko, even though intuition had already told her that her daughter was going to go away, she still hoped that she would do otherwise. Izumi was as anxious as his wife, but his heart held a sad, tranquil sense of peace, accepting that his task of protecting his daughter was over, and that everything was up to her now. It was Minami who was the most restless among the three, her emerald eyes wide and attentive as she tried to interpret the expression on Kikyo's face. Like her mother, she too, heard her intuition whisper that Kikyo would choose to leave them. Unlike her father, however, it was hard for her to accept that fact. Despite the promise she gave before, that she would not stop her sister is she chose to go, what Minami wanted to do at that moment was march towards Kikyo, slap her back to her senses and demand that she stayed with them. Even if her father had already told her the truth about Kikyo, she still looked at her as her little sister, the sister she loved and protected for twelve years. She didn't want to let go of her yet. Not yet. Not ever.

"I," Kikyo started, breaking the silence. Everyone looked directly at her, their eyes quietly announcing their fears.

"I'll go to Soul Society."

There was a long moment of unresponsiveness after that.

Finally it was Kanoko who first came out of her stupor and reacted. She collapsed on her knees, her hands covering her face as loud, muffled sobs escaped from her mouth. Her shoulders shook violently and her frantic cries caught the attention of Izumi who hastily rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her, pushing her face towards his chest.

Minami was the last one to recover.

She stared at the Kikyo with wide, disbelieving eyes. She couldn't believe her ears. No, that was not the case. She _would not _believe her ears. She couldn't accept Kikyo's words. She _wouldn't. _Kikyo turned towards her, and like a sword that stabbed her heart; Minami saw the determined expression on her sister's face, making her finally realize that her decision was unalterable. As the horror of that reality dawned upon her, Minami brutally kicked a chair away, and ran from the kitchen, running up the stairs and locking the door of her room, leaving a trail of fresh tears in her escape.

Kikyo bit her lip, viciously fighting the tears that were stubbornly pushing to get out. Toushirou watched the inner struggle in Kikyo's eyes, and he knew that it as time for him and Matsumoto to leave.

"We'll come back tomorrow to pick you up," Toushirou said, his voice startlingly gentle. "Pack whatever you want to bri –"

"Wait a minute," Kikyo suddenly interrupted. Her head lowered slightly, making the lone shadow of the big clump of hair that hung in front of her face cast a dark gloom upon her pale skin. "Can you give me one day? One day to sort this out and say a proper goodbye?"

At the word 'goodbye', an anguished cry escaped Kanoko's lips whose hysterical cries were virtually unstoppable. Kikyo's eyes tightened, her teeth sinking harder into the flesh of her lips, threatening to draw blood. Matsumoto looked at Kanoko with sincere pity.

"That will be quite dangerous," Toushirou reluctantly protested. "Another day in the human world with Aizen on your trail is – "

"Please," Kikyo cut him off, her voice hoarse and strained, and as she finally raised her head, Toushirou saw sparkling beads of tears starting to flow out of her sad, pained eyes. The look she gave him was strong enough to make the snow-haired captain agree without any further hesitation. After giving her more reminders about their departure, he and Matsumoto excused themselves and finally left the house that was continuously filled with Kanoko's cries.

--

Kuchiki Byakuya stared at the ceiling of Urahara's store, his mind wandering back to the events that had occurred only the night before. He clearly remembered every detail, and he could easily identify every wound that was inflicted on his body. He had only woken up a few hours ago, after spending almost a day of recovery from all the fatal wounds he had received. At the moment he had opened his eyes, the image of the girl who attended to him during those last moments of consciousness flashed across his mind.

He remembered her tattered, almost revealing clothes, her long, waist-length black hair that enveloped her body like an ebony cloak made out of the finest silk. He remembered the clear contrast of blood against her flawless, pale skin, and the face that had beautiful looked at him with worried, enchanting purple eyes that reminded him of a clear twilight sky. He remembered her gentle touch, as her hands caressed him, while her soothing, angel-like voice comforted him. Everything about her Byakuya clearly remembered, because he had kept her in his memory for almost fifty years.

"Hisana," he muttered silently, gazing at the plain white ceiling.

He pondered on his actions during his previous battle, and he felt as startled as his comrades. Byakuya thought that he had buried his past self; that impertinent, hotheaded young man who stubbornly insisted that he was greater than others. He thought that he had locked away all his emotions, destroying his usually expressive self. But as he contemplated on what had happened the night before, Byakuya found out that he had been mistaken. His old self was never destroyed. It had always been inside him, sleeping and repressed, waiting for a chance to finally break free of the prison of emotional depression and loneliness caused by Hisana's death.

The prison that was easily destroyed that night.

Byakuya remembered how impassive he felt, as he entered the human realm, not really caring about the reason behind the events but only following the orders given to him. But as soon as his eyes set upon the face of the host that housed the demon who was wrecking havoc upon them, something snapped within him.

Now, Byakuya felt something different swirl inside him, something he had not felt for a long time. _What was it? _He asked himself, for he had long forgotten the meaning behind the emotions he thought had long been buried away from his heart. Byakuya knew that something had changed in him, though he could not identify what was different. But slowly he found himself incapable of further deliberating about his emotional status, as the image of the mysterious girl he had met continued flashing endlessly across his mind.

_Who is she? _He continued to mentally inquire, hoping that somehow a part of his sub-consciousness knew the answer. _Hisana… she is so identical to her… her voice… her touch… her face… and yet… there is something different. Something different about that girl that clearly distinguished her from Hisana. It was not her power… it was something else… something that Hisana didn't have…_

"Ah, Kuchiki-taichou, I see that you're awake," a familiar cheery voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Byakuya's brows furrowed as he turned to meet the best friend of the woman he had disliked the most for more than a century. Like Yoruichi, Urahara was as annoying as ever. "It's been more than a day since you were unconscious. How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'm grateful of your services," Byakuya replied in a monotone voice that betrayed no emotion, but the expression on his face was far from grateful. Urahara just chuckled as he watched Byakuya's face, and Byakuya strangely felt the urge to suddenly punch him. Odd. He wasn't usually this easily provoked but such ridicule, but right now, he felt annoyed, something he did not usually allow himself to feel easily. He was like… his old self. His childhood self. Byakuya saw Urahara as Yoruichi, and uncharacteristically reminisced the moments when the female ex-captain would ridicule him and make fun of his shunpo. And strangely, the annoyance grew. Byakuya suddenly found it hard to keep his composure.

"You were quite lucky that girl, Kikyo, was able to stop that attack the Eien no Akuma directed towards you. Or else, you wouldn't be here," the jolly ex-captain commented.

Byakuya raised a questioning eyebrow. "Kikyo?"

"Haruma Kikyo. That's the name of the girl who was possessed by the Eien no Akuma. She's quite special actually. She possesses a remarkable amount of reiatsu, and it seems that another soul is actually imprisoned inside her soul. It's something I haven't seen before, though I find it highly interesting. Don't you think so, Kuchiki-taichou?" Urahara asked, staring at Byakuya's expression with amused eyes.

"That girl… with black hair and purple eyes?" Byakuya inquired, dismissing Urahara's previous question.

A sly smile appeared on Urahara's face as he noticed the stunned expression on Byakuya's eyes. "Yes," he said, his voice deep and purposely mysterious. "The girl that looked exactly like Hisana."

As that name left Urahara's lips, Byakuya's eyes widened involuntarily. The shock was clearly etched on his face, and so was the confusion, but there was something else that was craftily hidden behind the dumbfounded expression of his storm gray eyes. It was hope.

Somehow, deep inside Byakuya's soul, he felt a long lost sense of hope that maybe, just _maybe, _there is a chance for his beloved wife to return back to him. He was one of those who did not believe in miracles, but just this once he decided to, at least, believe that Haruma Kikyo was Hisana's form of reincarnation. He didn't dare think that she was her resurrection, for that was something that clearly went against the principles of nature. A reincarnation on the other hand, was a soul that had absorbed the remaining particles of a dying soul in the past, merging their qualities and physical attributes and morphing them into one being. Rukia was some sort of reincarnation for Hisana, for she had striking similarities with her sister. However, it was only Kikyo that struck him the most, for it was not a similarity, but an _exact _copy of Hisana's face. With the long hair put aside, Kikyo was literally Hisana's reflection brought to life.

"Haruma Kikyo," his mouth repeated breathlessly, as the name and the image matched in his mind.

--

Ichigo lay restlessly on his bed, gazing up at the blank unlit ceiling. He glanced at the clock on his night table, which told him that it was already fifteen minutes past ten. He had already been in bed since seven o'clock, and yet he couldn't find the chance to finally sleep. His mind was continuously troubled by the bizarre chain of events that had been occurring not only the night before, but also the previous days as well, starting at the day Hollows had attacked Kikyo.

His mind wasn't used to evaluating such complicated things, but he still pressed on, straining his average intellect and manifesting an irritating headache. His thoughts constantly wandered back to Kikyo, and often wondered how she was taking in everything that was happening to her at that moment. It must have been more difficult for her than it had been for him, for he was already used to seeing ghosts and other inhuman creatures before Rukia had appeared before him. He remembered that meeting they had after his injuries were fully healed by Inoue and how all of them decided to send her to Soul Society for safeguarding.

Somehow he was relieved by the idea, for he knew that Soul Society was a place safer than the human world, but mostly, he felt some sort of depression. Just as he finally realized his feelings for Kikyo, this had to happen. Almost three-fourths of his being was sad and distressed by the thought of Kikyo moving away to a place not easily accessible by anyone, even if it was a substitute shinigami. And he thought of her family. _What could they be thinking right now? _He knew that by that time Toushirou must have already gone to the Harumas and told them about the plan, and he wondered how they were coping with the fact that their daughter was going away.

Ichigo sighed as he sat up, turning his head to stare out his window and towards the clear, black sky where a small crescent moon floated together with billions of sparkling stars. He remembered something that his mom had told him, long ago when she was still alive.

"_Ichigo, did you know that the light from the stars takes more than a thousand years to reach us?"_

"_Really, mama?"_

"_Yes. That's why when you look up at night and see the tender sparkling of a billion stars in the sky, you are looking at the future."_

"_Is the future that pretty, mama? 'Cuz the stars are pretty."_

"_Yes, my boy. The future is as bright and as pretty as those stars. That's why remember this," his mother stares at him, with loving, gentle eyes. "No matter what happens always believe in the bright and pretty future. Believe that there is a tomorrow, and continue fighting for that tomorrow. Fight today for tomorrow's sake."_

Ichigo's eyes softened sadly as he remembered his long deceased mother. It wasn't often that he remembered his moments with her, but the situation he was in at that moment seemed to draw back all the memories. He thought of Kikyo again, and fervently prayed for her to remain strong, so that she may continue fighting for her tomorrow's sake. But somehow Ichigo knew that it was a wasted prayer, as he remembered the strong look Kikyo had given him during their first conversation, when she told him that she would do anything to protect her loved ones.

The image of Kikyo's fearless and statuesque form as she stood in front of Grimmjow, and skillful managed her sword struck him. Despite the dire situation, Ichigo still couldn't help but admire how beautiful Kikyo had looked. Her flowing black hair that moved with the ignorant breeze, her determined and fearless indigo eyes, and the way she stood as she wielded her sword. Every corner of her body screamed of elegance.

Ichigo lied down once again, and as his head hit his pillow, another image flashed across his mind.

It was an image he personally and strangely disliked. Disliked greatly.

He remembered the moment when Byakuya's bankai had finally disappeared, allowing them to access the area of battle. What they found in there however, was no demon, but the wounded and unconscious bodies of Kikyo and Byakuya. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed as he remembered how Kikyo rested her head against Byakuya's slightly bare chest, while her body was curled up into a ball and how comfortable and peaceful she looked as she slept beside him. And he didn't like the way Byakuya had tilted his body towards her, as if encouraging her to move closer to him, with a very atypical happy smile on his face.

But what disliked him the most was how _perfect _they looked together. As much as he wanted to deny it, as much as he wanted to forget about it, Ichigo knew that deep inside, his heart knew the truth. Both of them looked like two pieces of a puzzle that perfectly fitted together. As if their fates were decided even before they were born.

Ichigo recalled what Toushirou, Matsumoto and Renji told him while they were waiting outside Byakuya's bankai.

"Hisana," he muttered as his russet colored eyes gazed at the empty ceiling once more.

"Who are you?"

--

A/N: Finally we get to have a sneak peak on the feelings of the two bachelors! Woohoo!

And awww, come on!! Why don't you review?? Why are those reviewing are only two or three when I get more then ten Favorite Stories alerts??

If you don't review I won't update. :P

Read, REVIEW, and Enjoy!!

ovalkyrievamp289o


	11. Painful Goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH

--

Chapter 11: A Painful Good-bye

--

"Mom…"

Kikyo stood in front of her parents' bedroom door, staring at the shiny doorknob with impending anxiety. Inside her was a tempest of emotions, violently mixing and fusing together, and making Kikyo all the more anxious. Despite her desperation to have a conversation with her family, she hardly knew how to start. It was hard to say goodbye when you're going to some far away country, but it's even harder to say goodbye when you're going to another dimension accessible only to those who are dead. And there also was the fact that she didn't really want to go, but was only forced to do so because of the danger her presence could inflict upon her family.

"Kikyo, we'll sort this out tomorrow, okay? You're mom is a little not right," came the voice of her father from the other side of the door.

"Oh," Kikyo replied, her eyes looking downcast. "Okay then. Good night. I love you both."

"Good night honey. We love you too… so much…" As Izumi replied, Kanoko suddenly started wailing again, her cries acting as daggers that painfully pierced Kikyo's heart. Before she could hear anymore, Kikyo dashed back to her room and slammed the door shut. She jumped on her bed and placed the pillow over her head to muffle out her mother's cries.

"_You did the proper thing,"_ Kira whispered deep within Kikyo's mind. "_And sometimes, the right choices develop painful drawbacks."_

"It's just… so painful…" KIkyo whimpered out loud, forgetting that Kira was speaking to her in her mind. Nevertheless, Kira understood her, and released a consoling sigh.

"_I know Kikyo…I know that it's painful… But to survive in this wretched life, you must remember that reality is not about being unfair, it's about surpassing the unfair reality. For you, life must be painful… but to really live, you must learn to surpass and benefit from that pain_," Kira said, her voice soothing and comforting. A small smile appeared on Kikyo's lips.

"You're starting to sound like my dad," Kikyo mused, sighing as she pulled her blanket over her cold body. "He also said something like that before."

"_You have a wonderful father, Kikyo," _Kira replied, with an envious sigh that confused Kikyo. "_I cannot lie. It is from him that I learned the words that I told you right now. Haruma Izumi is so wise and kind, I believe that only a handful of people like him exist in this world. During those years that I have silently spent inside you, I have listened and learned from your father. You can even say that I see him as my father as well."_

"Yeah, dad's a great guy," Kikyo muttered, her voice slightly pained. "Too bad I can't spend more time with him."

"_I can fully understand your regret," _Kira replied, her voice a bit strained. _"If it were up to me, I would have gladly given you fourteen more years to enjoy this blissful life. But alas, it seems that fate is against my wishes."_

A sudden silence drew between them. Deep inside Kikyo's mind, Kira wondered what could be troubling her host at that moment. It was often easy for her to read Kikyo's mind because it was always simple and organized. But at that moment, her thoughts were in turmoil, merging so efficiently with her emotions that Kira was having a hard time to point out which was which. A wave of pity overcame her, as she watched Kikyo's inner struggle and predicted the inevitable appearance of tears to come soon.

"Kira?" Kikyo once again asked out loud.

"_Yes?"_

"Can I ask you a question?"

"_Of course."_

"And do you promise that you will answer me with outmost sincerity and truth?"

Silence.

"Kira?" Kikyo called out loudly, once again forgetting that Kira was in her mind. The silence she had received was not comforting.

"_I can read your mind Kikyo and despite the chaos in your mentality, I have a quite vivid hunch on what you are going to ask. I promise that I will tell you only the things that are suitable for this time. Knowing too much before the proper moment is highly dangerous."_

Now it was Kikyo who fell silent. She hesitated on asking her question, not because of what Kira had told her, but because of what Kira _might _tell her in reply. It was a question that had constantly plagued her mind, ever since that moment when Izumi had told her that she was not his biological daughter, and that two strange women that were undeniably shinigamis gave her to them. But, deep inside Kikyo knew, that whatever the truth may be, she would always love her adoptive family, and see them as her real ones.

"I want to know who my parents are."

As she said this, Kikyo could almost hear Kira sigh.

"_I knew it," _she muttered, her melodic voice sounding exasperated. "_I'm sorry Kikyo, but there is only one thing that I could tell you about that, and after which, I would not entertain anymore questions that are connected to that topic. Understood?"_

Kikyo felt that it was a little unfair, but then she agreed. One piece of information about her past is better than none. "Okay, I understand," she replied, her voice eager and scared at the same time.

"_Kikyo," _Kira started, her voice a little strange. "_You were not born. You had always been alive, hundreds of years ago. But, fifty years ago, your soul was compressed back into the stage of infancy. Your real parents have perished more than two hundred years ago."_

That was more than Kikyo could handle.

"What?!" she gasped, the momentum of her shock violently driving against her confused mind. It made her mental status threateningly fall into the "Insane" stage, and Kikyo felt as if her head was going to burst. _What the hell!? _The practical side of her brain kept screaming.

"_I told you, I'm not going to answer anymore question," _Kira replied, groaning in regret. She shouldn't have told Kikyo about that. Now the storm that had raged in Kikyo's mind had turned into a hurricane. It would now be hard for Kikyo to get some sleep.

"But…" Kikyo wanted to protest, but then, a wave of exhaustion ran through her body. Kikyo felt so tired, that she found a hard time moving her mouth and keeping her eyes open.

"_You have to rest now," _Kira told her, her voice turning into an irresistible lullaby. "_It's easy for me to close and repair all your injuries, but my power cannot take away the exhaustion that your body had experienced. One whole day of sleep was definitely not enough."_

"But…" Kikyo tried again, her voice muffled by her closing lips.

"_Hush Kikyo, and just sleep. Rest and restore your energy because tomorrow you will need it to finally face your family…for the last time," _Kira muttered, her words turning into a song as she sang the melody that she had always sang to Kikyo, ever since she was a baby.

"For the last time…" Kikyo muttered before finally closing her eyes. A solitary tear slowly fell from her lids.

--

"That girl is really interestin' don't ya think?" Ichimaru Gin commented as he and Tousen stood before the tall marble platform wherein Aizen's throne was placed. The hall was as gloomy as always, eerie dark shadows concealed the tall ceiling, creating an illusion of a never-ending void. The whitewashed stone that made up the extravagant pillars that supported the room cast black reflections that could have completely concealed any spy that dared.

A sinister smirk appeared on the face of the fifth squad ex-captain as his pale hand ran through his russet colored hair, that was pushed back. Dark, toffee eyes look down on his subordinates. "Yes, she is interesting."

"What are you going to do, Aizen-sama?" Tousen asked, his blind eyes looking up at their leader. If he had been given the gift of sight, Tousen would have seen the smile on Aizen's face grow into a more sadistic level.

"You already know my answer to that question, Tousen."

--

"That is all, sir."

"I understand. I have assigned the second division to assist and help guard the girl through the Senkaimon. The twelfth division is already preparing and magnifying our radar, so that we would be able to inform you if any Gargantas are about to open into the human world. Be prepared," Yamamoto stated.

"Yes, sir."

The connection ended.

Toushirou sighed as he gently rubbed his temples. All the events that had occurred during the couple of days prior to their arrival had been nothing but confusing. Despite the possibility of Urahara's theories about Kikyo's situation, the tenth squad captain still couldn't grasp the reality of all the facts being presented to him. His comrades were still recovering due to the sudden attack launched by those Arrancar only a day ago and he wondered if they would be able to stand up against another attack at that moment, in case Aizen planned to stop Haruma Kikyo's entry into Soul Society.

"Hey, taichou!" A quirky, irritating voice broke through Toushirou's meditation. "I'm back from shopping! Look at what I bought you!" Matsumoto took out a long, navy blue scarf with white hearts on it. Embroidered on the side was, "For my dear captain, Shiro-chan!".

A vein popped at the corner of Toushirou's forehead.

"Isn't it cute taichou? It's even personalized!" Matsumoto exclaimed, waving the scarf around like some blue banner. "It would look good on you taichou! You should try wearing it on one of your captain meetings!"

Another vein popped. Toushirou had enough.

"MATSUMOTO!!" He hollered angrily, his eye blazing in annoyance. Matsumoto drew back, clutching the scarf with shaky hands.

"Er, don't be to angry taichou," she muttered, staring uncertainly at her fuming captain. "I'll buy another one for you okay? Maybe I should have bought the one with stars on it so that it would match the hilt of your zanpakutou." Seeing that her captain wasn't loosening up, Matsumoto tried another tactic. "I'll throw in some candy if you want."

That did it.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

--

The sun was high up in the sky, clearly indicating that it was almost noon. People rushed by the sidewalks and pedestrian lanes, eager to reach their destinations before lunchtime ended. The restaurants, cafes and fast food joints were almost full, providing a blistering heat to the unfortunate crowd. The roads were strangely packed with cars, and the annoying sound of sirens and honking intermingled with the endless chatter of the by passers. The smoke coming out for the cars provided an unpleasant atmosphere that would usually cause a person to cough here and there.

Byakuya walked through the crowding streets, struggling to keep up a straight face instead of a scowling one. He was not really interested in the lives of humans, although he had never imagined that humanity had degraded into such a disgusting level. His nose caught a whiff of smoke, and a disgusted frown immediately stained in impassive features. The people around him didn't pay any attention to him, aside from the fact that they kept their distance, sensing the air of aristocracy and annoyance.

The head of the Kuchiki clan could not understand what came into him that morning. He remembered asking Urahara for a gigai, and he found himself surprised that the ex-captain had already prepared one for him. With thirty thousand yen as pocket money, Byakuya started wandering around the busy streets of Karakura town.

Like every shinigami, Byakuya had a mobile phone that detected any nearby Hollows. Byakuya stared at the empty screen every now and then with awkward and uncharacteristic impatience. He had expected more Hollows to appear, since there were a delicious number of shinigami souls that would have attracted them. But the screen remained empty.

Byakuya moved through the crowds and found a huge public building where he had noticed most people were going in to. Out of curiosity, Byakuya entered the building that was called a mall, and it struck him to see quite a number of strange and modern shops that were organized into accessible rows. The sixth squad captain slowly walked across the marble floor, staring at the new forms of fashion that had entered Japan. All of them were alien to him. Even the long white polo, the black cotton pants and the shiny leather shoes that he had been forced to wear were strange to him.

As he passed by an accessories shop, something caught his eye.

He stared at it for a while, unconsciously pushing his face closely towards the glass the way a child would do. His stormy gray eyes stared at the object in display with fascination, as he adored the royal purple hue of the soft, satin ribbon. As his eyes focused on the color, the face of a girl suddenly entered her mind.

Startled by such unexpected thought, Byakuya suddenly drew back against the wall, catching the attention of a few female shoppers who at first gazed at him curiously before giggling and whispering with each other. Byakuya hardly noticed them, for he was currently in shock. It was very unlike him to stare at things and remember people through them, but now, as he stared at the elegant purple ribbon behind the protective glass window, the face of Kikyo continued floating in his mind. But what bothered him the most was the fact that it was _Kikyo _and not Hisana who appeared in his mind. He knew that it was Kikyo, for the long, waist-length hair was clearly distinguishable.

But there was something else that made Byakuya sure that it was indeed Kikyo's image in his mind and not Hisana. Something that he couldn't quite identify yet.

Still confused and slightly bewildered, Byakuya entered the shop.

--

The Haruma family sat silently in the living room, a single word not daring to break the fragile but heavy silence. Kikyo sat alone on the loveseat that was parallel to the couch where the rest of her family sat.

Izumi's face was calm, but his emerald eyes held the same sad tone like before. He sat beside Kanoko, whose eyes were bloodshot and almost swollen due to all the crying she had done. Her first was twisted in a grim expression, making her pale face look pallid. Minami sat beside her mother, an anguished scowl on her face. Her eyes were also bloodshot, hinting that she had also been crying all night. It had been a great difficulty for Izumi to get Minami out of her room, for she had literally barred the way with her bed. It had taken all morning just to get her out, and finally all of them were present in the living room.

Kikyo sat uncomfortably, beads of sweat flowing out of her pores every now and then. She had no idea how to start, and the heavy atmosphere that surrounded them made it even more difficult for her to think. Kikyo had attempted to ask Kira for support, but the inner soul flatly refused, stating that this was something that Kikyo had to go through alone.

"Er…" she started, her fingers nervously playing with the ends of her white t-shirt. The t-shirt was something Minami had given her as a birthday gift. "I wanted to talk to all of you… to sort things out…"

A soft whimper escaped Kanoko's lips but Kikyo acted as if she didn't hear it. "You all know of course, that I'm not biologically part of this family," Kikyo continued, her voice turning hoarse and strained as her throat started to tighten. The pain inflicted by the truth of her own words was maddening. "Honestly, I don't know what to do with that sudden piece of information that had been kept from me for over sixteen years." She saw her father bite his lower lip in guilt, but still she carried on. "What I know is that… I'm not an ordinary human. Heck, I don't even know if I _am_ human. It's just that suddenly, all these monsters started showing up, hungering for a piece of me and then it seems that you'll all be dragged into the crossfire. I don't want that."

Minami snorted in protest but Kikyo ignored her. She took a deep breath and said what she had been practicing in her mind the whole morning. "I'm going to Soul Society not because I want to, but because I need to."

"And why is that?" Minami suddenly asked, her emerald eyes glaring at Kikyo. "Are you saying that you're leaving us not because you want to protect us from those Arran- whatever things, but because you find it as a necessity?"

"No," Kikyo firmly disagreed, returning Minami's glare. "That's not what I meant Minami. If you can just stop making up different assumptions about me and just listen, then maybe all this won't be too difficult for you." Kikyo didn't mean to snap at her sister, but the accusing edge of Minami's voice was just too much that she couldn't control her anger.

Minami continued to glare but kept silent. Kikyo took a deep breath to calm down her emotions. "I need to go there because I have a feeling… that somehow all the questions about my identity would be answered… It would have felt better if I had stayed here and continued struggling for our safety. I'm not boasting but I believe I could protect you as much as any of those shinigamis could. But that's not the case… " Kikyo paused and stared at her hands, which gripped her yellow skirt intensely. Her eyes closed momentarily, as she shortly meditated on the words that she would be releasing.

"I want to know who I am, who I was, and what is it that I should be in the future. I want to know the purpose behind all these things that had been happening to me, the power that had awakened in my body, and the new strength that I had received. I just," Kikyo stopped once again, and raised her head to gaze at the members of her family. A family that she treasured more than her own life. "I just don't want to live in a lie."

Another heavy silence came upon them.

"Did you really think…that we were lying to you?" Izumi suddenly blurted out, his eyes sad and pained. "I believe that I had never lied to you, Kikyo. When I called you my daughter, I believed that you were my daughter. When I said I loved you, I meant it. I never told you anything false."

"I know that, dad,' Kikyo replied, and she noticed that Izumi's eyes momentarily brightened at the word, 'dad'. "I know that your love was true. I felt it. I also know that all of you saw me as your real family, even if we aren't tied by blood. But the lie I was talking about wasn't about those. What I meant was that, I don't want to continue to pretend that I'm a normal being."

"Hell, you're not normal all right," Minami snorted, rolling her eyes. "I've never met another person who fell the down the stairs everyday since the start of their life and still be alive. Nor had I ever seen another person who slips on her own socks as if it was a banana peel."

A smile appeared on Kikyo's lips. The atmosphere drastically lightened.

"Oh dear, what would happen to my daughter now?" Kanoko suddenly mused, surprising all of them. A playful smile appeared on her lips, as the depressed look on her eyes faded away. "What on earth was the person who gave you such power thinking? Bestowing such capabilities to such a clumsy child. I won't wonder if Soul Society suddenly returns her to us, after they had suffered severe casualties due to Kikyo's clumsiness."

An air of laughter passed through all of them, and before Kikyo knew it, the sad expressions on her family's faces were replaced with cheerful smiles. Though Kikyo often disliked being teased, she endured this one, for the sake of her family's happiness. Although she couldn't help but wonder about her mother's joke.

"That's damn right!" Minami added, chuckling. Neither of her parents complained about her vulgar language. "How embarrassing that would be for us!"

Minami suddenly turned to Kikyo with a serious look. "Listen up sis, I don't want you coming back here with an air of disappointment. I'm no longer angry about you leaving us, but believe me, I'm going to be a hell of mad when I find out that you'll be kicked out of that place for your incompetence. Fight sis, fight and improve. Fight and come back here as a new and strong person, falling down the stairs only once a day and not mistaking a sock for a banana peel, ok?"

Izumi and Kanoko stared at Kikyo with the same expecting expression Minami had on her face. Both of them agreed to what their eldest daughter had just said.

Kikyo returned their stare with a firm and determined look. "I promise."

"Ah, now that's more like it!" Minami exclaimed, moving towards her sister, and wrapping her arm around Kikyo's neck. Kikyo struggled to get some air. "No matter how useless you look, show those damn shinigami what you can do!"

"Oi! What's with the 'how useless you look' phrase?!" Kikyo protested, but only received gentle punch in reply. "There's no harm in pointing out the obvious, isn't there?" Minami teased, roughly ruffling her sister's hair. "Have you packed yet? Don't go bringing some sissy things because you'll only embarrass yourself!"

"I'm not bringing some sissy things so get off me!" Kikyo replied, trying to pull herself away from her sister's infamous neck grip. "You're choking me, Minami!"

"What's with that attitude? Hey, if you can't even free yourself from my grip, I doubt it that you can be able to last a day in that Soul Society place. From what I've read before, shinigami are souls who are highly skilled in combat. You are definitely not 'highly skilled', Kikyo!" Minami continued, keeping Kikyo locked in her grip.

"Let me go! I'm seriously going to bite you!" Kikyo threatened, barring her teeth in offense.

"Just try you clumsy squirt! You're gonna receive a black eye in reply!" Minami threatened in reply, playfully tightening her free hand into a fist. Kikyo grinned and stock out her tongue mockingly. "I wouldn't really bite you anyway. You'd probably taste bad."

"Why you little – "

Minami suddenly stopped, seeing the pure horror on her sister's eyes. Anxiety immediately took over. "Kikyo, what's wrong?"

Kikyo didn't bother replying. Her whole body stiffened as her heart beat wildly against her ribcage. She could feel it. That sinister reiatsu that had surrounded the Arrancar named Grimmjow that she had fought. But this time it was different. This time is was something more powerful. A lot more merciless.

"Run…" she muttered, the horror in her eyes drawing in a sense of panic into the minds of every member of the Haruma household. Minami let of her sister, cautiously backing away from her. "Kikyo, what are you –"

"RUN!!"

At that precise moment, the front door that had been peacefully closed violently exploded. The debris flew all around, and one heavy block of would found its target and hit Kanoko squarely on the head. She collapsed on the dusty floor, bright red blood flowing from her head.

"Kanoko!" Izumi gasped, immediately kneeling down beside his wife's body. Minami joined her father and both of them cried out in desperation, frantically trying to wake Kanoko up. Kikyo on the other hand, stood motionless, as he constricted indigo eyes fell upon the creature that walked through the hole that used to be their door. Emotionless, dark green eyes stared at her impassively, as his noxious reiatsu purposely seeped out of his pale body, forming an aura of darkness around him. The hole on his chest frightened Kikyo, for it supported her wild guess that the creature in front of her had no heart. The green paint that was drawn beneath his eyes like tearstains provided an eerie atmosphere. His mouth opened, and a cold, terrifying voice spoke out the words Kikyo didn't want to hear.

"Haruma Kikyo. I have come to take you."

--

A/N: I don't have much to say…I've been feeling pretty lazy these past few days and it took quite an amount of effort to bring myself to write this next chapter. Chapter 12 would probably appear in a week…Who knows? The school year is approaching in our country and I've got two weeks left, before homework and exams forcefully keep me away from this story. That's too bad, isn't it? If you don't want that to happen kindly review, 'cuz I'm beginning to doubt about this story's quality. I have a habit of deleting unsatisfactory stories, you know?

Read, REVIEW, and enjoy!

ovalkyrievamp289o


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